Of Light, Fire, and Flowers
by Zeak106
Summary: "I don't care who you were, or what you did. What matters now is that you're family. Now help me bring these groceries inside." - Exiled Rogue Hunter Mason Vermilion to his adopted daughter.
1. Authors note

Welcome everyone to Of Light, Fire, and Flowers. This will initially be a primarily a Fluff fic so expect a sort of slice of life approach to this story. There will still be fights but I'll say it again. It's mostly fluff. I do have a sort of plot that I want to write out but I'm still working it out. if I like it then ill introduce it. Anyway, just some background information for everyone.

After browsing the RWBY wiki I found there were no definite ages given for Cinder and other characters so I've assumed that Cinders age when we first meet her is 20 make the age difference between her and Ruby 5 years. A comparable situation goes for cinders semblance. There were several discussions but no definite answer. So, I have decided that her semblance is basic fire creation and manipulation but it's nothing on the scale of that of the fall maiden.

As for why this is a cross over with Destiny? I thought it might be interesting to have a hunter do what he does in this story (No spoilers ;P) and well I am a huge fan of the games so its familiar territory for me. Hopefully it makes it a bit easier for me to write.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys the story and is having a good life!

-Zeak-


	2. Ch 1: The Flame of Family

**Well you saw the authors note last chapter so let's get right into things!**

* * *

Chapter 1: The Flame of a Family.

* * *

 _Far above the in the skies of Remnant:_

"NEIR!" a helmeted man shouted as his ship plummeted towards the ground. "WHAT HAPPENED!"

A small chocolate brown drone appeared over his shoulder as he wrestled with the ships controls. This was Neir, the piolets ghost.

"Vex. They fired a strange beam at us. Damage is critical. We need to land." Neir said.

"HOW ARE YOU SO CALM!?"

"I'm not I have modified my voice modulator to give me a calmer sounding demeanor. I am actually quite terrified right now." The small drone quipped.

"WELL GET ME A PLACE TO LAND THIS THING OR WE'RE AS GOOD AS DEAD!"

"There is a clearing a few kilometers to the north." a small blip appeared on the ships radar.

"Oh this is going to hurt. In-atmosphere thrusters don't fail me now!" the man grunted as he activated the thrusters.

The engines whined in protest but the ship slowly blead of speed before lurching to a halt just above a clearing. Slowly the ship descended into the clearing lowering the landing gear as it went.

As soon as the ship touched down the pilot materialized out of the air and stumbled.

The pilot tossed away his helmet revealing a Caucasian man with salt-n-pepper hair and slight stubble.

"Dear god that was close." The man heaved. "First I get exiled, then that stupid Vex laser beam thing, and now where ever the hell this is."

"To be fair Mason." The little drone appeared over the pilot's shoulder again. "This was hardly the most dangerous thing you've done."

"Doesn't mean I have to like it." The pilot, now named Mason, stood up and examined his ship.

"Dammit. Whatever the Vex hit us with completely fried the warp core and really did a number on the engines. At best, we can make it just past that moon we saw but until we get this fixed, no interplanetary travel for us." Mason sighed. "Neir run a diagnostic check to see if anything else was damaged."

The ghost made a nodding motion. "Right. On it."

"Now." Mason turned to look at the forest. "Where in the name of the Traveler are we…"

...

 _-Kingdom of Vale 8 months later-_

 _..._

She was cold, dressed in rags, hungry, and tired, but she couldn't stop running. She just wanted food so she had stolen a loaf of bread from a bakery but she accidentally set fire to the building… again. And now she was running from the mob that wanted her head.

Why did she have this power? All it ever did was make her life miserable. She didn't want it. Why couldn't she have a normal semblance like a normal person?

The girl kept running down through alleys and side streets until she heard a voice in front of her.

"I'm telling you Neir, it's ridiculous. The man is nuts trying to sell bread for that much. Who does he expect to be able to buy it? The head of the SDC?" A man said as he walked down the street.

He stood easily over six feet tall, with windswept salt-n-pepper hair. He had a scar peeking out through his shirt running down his neck into his chest. His eyes were a brilliant blue and he had a pair of sun glasses hanging from his shirt.

She ducked into an alley and watched as he went to pass. Unfortunately, he must have seen her move into the alley because he called out.

"Hey kid what are you doing out so late? Shouldn't you be home in bed?"

Curse her luck now she'd have to fight him to get away. No doubt the mob would still be coming for her.

"G-Go away. Leave me alone." She said. She couldn't turn around. If she did she would only be running to her doom.

He only raised an eyebrow at her. Was she not scary. She was a monster that just burnt a bakery to the ground!

He took a step closer and she raised her balled fists at him. Another step and her hands covered themselves with flames. That stopped the man in his tracks. Good, now she could-

 _POOF_

Her flames went out in a puff of smoke. Wide-eyed with fear the girl stood frozen. Her flames had failed again. They only ever worked to hurt others. She was doomed now. He was going to kill her. Just like everyone else said they would do.

She closed her eyes and waited for the inevitable. Tears streaming down her face she waited. And waited. And waited. But nothing happened. Slowly she opened her eyes. That man who had called out to her was kneeling in front of her

"EEEP!" She jumped back in surprise.

The man just laughed. "That was pretty cool kid."

Was he mocking her? She was a monster. Her power was not cool. It scared her and hurt others.

She balled her fists again and threw a flaming punch at the strange man but he caught it with his calloused palm. Her eyes went wide. Why wasn't he hurt? All those flames ever did were hurt people, and yet here he was holding her flaming hand with no clear pain or effort.

The man noticed her surprised look and laughed again. "Sorry kid, but those flames of yours are too weak to hurt me." The man smiled. "As a matter of fact, I have my own flames too."

What did he mean by that? And why was he still smiling at her? Had he still not realized that she was a monster?

"See?" The man held out his other hand and in the palm, was a small orange wisp of fire.

Her eyes widened again in shock. This man had flames like her? Was that why he wasn't scared of her?

The man gently pushed the flame towards her. The flame gently sailed through the air and came to rest just in front of her. She could only stare as it gently bobbed and flickered in front of her. This flame was different. Unlike hers, this little wisp was warm and comforting. She was entranced by the small ember. Just floating there, warm and welcoming.

"My names Mason. What's your name kid?" The man asked shaking her from her trance as the flame blew away in a puff of white smoke.

She thought for a moment. This man, Mason, hadn't tried to hurt her and was actually showing some degree of kindness towards her. She liked this man. He didn't fear her like the others.

Before she could reply, however, a group of men ran up behind the two.

"Hey you! Get away from her." One of the men shouted in the group shouted.

Mason stood up from where he was kneeling and turned around to face the crowd.

"Why?" He asked. "She's just a kid?"

"That 'kid' has burnt down seven buildings. She's a monster and a menace to society."

The girl took a step back ready to run, but before she could Mason looked at her. "Monster? All I see is a hungry homeless kid whose doing what she has to to survive." He rubbed his hand on top of her head. He was defending her.

"Just get out of the way man. Give us the kid. We'll all be better off without her." Another man in the group said.

Scared the girl hugged the leg of the man who had showed her kindness.

"And if I don't want to?" Mason put a hand on his hip.

"Have it your way then. Boys get-"

 _BANG_

Smoke fell from the barrel of the pistol Mason held. The weapon had certainly seen better days. Cuts and gashes could bee seen in the frame and the old red paint was nearly all gone revealing the grey gunmetal beneath it. A portion of the grip was missing and hanging from the hammer was a small round medallion with a tree growing out of a dear skull engraved on it.

Where the weapon had come from none of the people in the mob knew. In reality Mason had pulled it from the holster strapped to his leg faster than anyone present could see. In front of the mob there was a small crater where the bullet hit.

"Think very carefully about what your about to do gentlemen. Either buzz off or none of you aren't going home tonight." Mason said with venom in his voice.

Tension filled the air as the mob stared down Mason and the girl. After a minute that seemed like an eternity. The man at the front turned around and started to walk away. "Come on guys. Looks like we'll have to wait for another chance."

Mason watched as the group slowly dispersed before looking down at the child who had her face buried in his pant leg.

Mason knelt again and embraced the girl in a tight hug. "Hey, it's alright their gone now. There's no need to cry."

The two sat in the street. Mason holding the girl tight as she cried. Slowly the girl stopped crying and Mason let go.

"Come on kid. Let's get you cleaned up and get some food in you." Mason stood up and motioned for the girl to follow.

Together the two walked off into the night.

...

 _-1 Hour Later in a house in the woods surrounding Vale-_

 _..._

It took them awhile to make it back Mason's home since it was outside the walls of Vale on the coast.

The house itself wasn't much. Just a small five room home. One bathroom, two bedrooms, a full kitchen and a living room that doubled as a dining room.

Mason showed the girl to the bathroom and told her to wash up while he made some dinner.

"Hey Neir?" Mason said as he turned the stove on.

"Yes Mason?" Neir materialized on the counter top.

"I've been thinking…" Mason opened a cabinet and took out some salt and pepper. "We've been on Remnant for a little under a year now-"

"8 months, 9 days, 14 hours, 10 minutes, and 46 seconds to be exact." Neir interrupted him.

"Yeah yeah." Mason waved him off. "But I was thinking… why should we go back? We were exiled after all. I'd be hunted down and killed if we went back so why not stay here? It's mostly peaceful and the grim aren't much of a threat to us."

Neir was silent for a moment the only noises being heard were the sound of the girl in the shower and the sizzle of a hamburger in a pan.

"I would like that Mason. Not having to worry about you dying and being able to life in moderate peace would certainly do my processors some good. And while I may not approve of what you did to get us exiled I would rather stay by your side then have our link severed." Neir eventually said. "A Life of moderate peace… I would like that."

"You keep saying moderate peace. What do you mean by that?" Masson asked as he flipped the burger.

"Do you really think you're going to stay out of trouble Mason?" If the ghost could raise an eye brow Mason was sure it would be doing that right now.

Mason just laughed. "Fair point."

The two sat in silence again as Mason finished up cooking.

"Mason?" Neir hovered in front of the Hunters face.

"Mmm?"

"What do you plan to do with the girl?" Neir turned his optic toward the bathroom door.

Mason silently put the food on a plate before answering. "I think I'll adopt her assuming she'll accept living with me."

"Any particular reason why?"

"If I learned anything from being a hunter Neir, it's that even with you around, in the wild it gets lonely. Having a kid would be a good change of pace. That and I can't just let her go back to the streets. Those people tried to kill her." Mason sighed. "I am not a good person Neir. All those dirty plays in the crucible and stolen glimmer prove that. But I've told you this before. I always wanted to be a dad. I wanted to have a kid who looked up to me. Hell, I'd even settle for the weird uncle roll so long as the kid liked me."

"Don't sell yourself short Mason. You are a good person and I'll try to support you so long as my processors are still going." Neir said.

Mason smiled. "Thanks Neir." Mason held out his fist and Neir tapped his chassis against it in so odd form of a fist bump.

A moment later, just as Mason sat down, the door to the bathroom opened and a small girl stepped out. Her long wavy black hair hung loose down one side as her hazel eyes scanned the room. She wore an oversized black hoodie over the rags she had been wearing earlier. Slowly she made her way to the table and sat across from Mason.

Mason pushed the burger towards her and smiled. "Here eat this. I'm not the best cook in the world but it should still be pretty good."

The girl eyed him carefully, suspicion was written all over her face. She poked the burger testing it before taking a tentative bite. After a moment, she ravenously ate the burger and soon it was gone.

Mason let out a chuckle. "Guess you were hungry huh."

She nodded.

"You know. You never gave me your name after we were interrupted by that mob." Mason said. "Mind telling me your name?"

The girl looked down and scratched her cheek. "Cinder… My name is Cinder Fall."

"Well my name is Mason." He smiled. "And I think that Cinder is a very pretty name."

"Th-Thank you." Cinder quietly stammered out.

Silence enveloped them again.

"Hey Cinder?"/"Um Mr. Mason?" they said at the same time.

"Go ahead." Mason gestured for her to continue.

"Um. It's just that… Thank you for saving me and could I stay with you please? I won't be a burden. I promise. I'll work. Do chores. I'll do anything. Just please I don't want to-"

Mason held up a hand.

"Stop." He said.

Cinders face paled and she hung her head low trying to hold back tears.

"I have a better idea."

Cinder looked up with tears at the corners of her eyes.

"Cinder… How would you like to be my daughter?"

More silence.

Cinder slowly stood up.

Walked around the table.

Hugged Mason.

And for the third time that night, began to cry.

Mason warped his arms around her and hugged her back not saying a word. Letting her cry into his shoulder.

"Daddy…" Cinder mumbled through her tears.

The two sat like that in each other's arms for a long time. Cinder refusing to let go. Eventually the crying stopped and was replaced by calm breathing. Slowly Mason pulled Cinder's sleeping form off of him and he carried her to the spare bed room. He set her down in the bed and covered her with the sheets.

Mason spent some time sitting by the bed as Cinder slept. Watching his new daughter sleep peacefully for the first time in her life. Eventually he stood up and gently rested his hand on her forehead. Mason grew misty eyed. He had finally done something right.

He finally had a true family to call his own, even if it was only him and Cinder.

* * *

 **AN**

* * *

 **Well there's the first chapter. How'd I do? I understand it might have been a bit angsty/emotional but hey I needed a backstory so here's what I came up with.**

 **Next chapter you can expect to be a lot happier and fluffy.**

 **If anyone wants to, feel free to PM me or leave a review of some cute fun scenarios that I can write Mason and Cinder doing.**

 **Have a good one everyone!**

 **-Zeak-**


	3. Ch 2: New Freinds

**Welcome to Chapter 2 of** ** _Of Light, Fire, and Flowers_** **as promised here is a bit of a fluffier chapter than the last one hope you all enjoy.**

 **Reviews** **:**

 **DarkRising32: I PM'ed you but I'll answer you here in case you didn't get it. I am unsure as of right now but I have roughly 12 more chapters planned out. Depending on how things go I most likely will but things will obviously be a whole lot different.**

 **Everyone else: Thanks for the positive feedback. It does wonders for my confidence and motivation!**

* * *

Chapter 2: New Friends.

* * *

Cinder sat up in bed and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She looked around her bedroom and smiled.

It had been a few days since Mason had adopted her as his daughter and she couldn't be happier. She had a warm bed, was well fed, and had someone who seemed to genuinely care about her taking care of her. She didn't have any new clothes to replace her rags yet but Mason had said they would go and buy some today.

She hurriedly got out of bed and threw on the hoodie Mason had given her before she made her way to the kitchen.

As soon as she opened the door, her nose was assaulted by a warm buttery smell and the slight sizzle of grease.

"WAFFLES!" She shouted and ran and peeked over the counter.

Mason let out a chuckle. "Not yet. They're not quite done. Go grab a drink and go sit down. I'll be there in a minute."

"Okay!" Cinder smiled and made her way to the small table and sat down. She gently swung her legs from side to side, not quite tall enough to have her feet on the floor.

A few moments later Mason made his way over and set a plate of waffles in front of her. She eyed them hungrily as the syrup dripped and pooled beneath them. She waited for Mason to sit down with his morning coffee before she began to devour the syrupy squares.

"Woah there!" Mason pulled the plate away. "Slow down a bit. Can't have you choking now can we."

"Okay…" she pouted as he pushed the plate back to her.

Mason watched as Cinder ate her waffles. The small girl's mood had improved greatly ever since he had adopted her. It made him smile seeing her happy. Since she was in a good mood and she had finally gotten used to living with him he decided it was time to tell her something.

"Hey Cinder?" Mason asked.

"Yeah Dad?" She said still eating.

"I'd like you to meet someone. Neir, if you could come out now please."

As Mason finished talking, Neir materialized in front of Mason just above his coffee cup.

"Hello Cinder. My name is Neir and I… uh… Cinder?" the ghost tilted its fins to the side in a gesture of confusion.

Cinder was staring at the probe with stars in her eyes. "Woah… Floating chocolate….."

 _*SNRK*_ Mason jerked his head to the side to avoid his ghosts annoyed glare.

"Something funny Guardian…" Neir said.

"Noooooooo….." Mason said still avoiding Neir's stare.

"Are you sure about thaaaaAAHHH NO CINDER STOP THAT!"

Cinder had grabbed Neir from the air and had begun chewing on the chocolate colored ghost.

"CINDER I AM NOT FOOD! MASON GET HER OFF OF ME!"

Mason didn't hear him. He was too busy rolling on the floor laughing at his ghost's predicament.

After some moments of struggle the Ghost wriggled its way out of Cinders tiny hands and floated to the other side of the table. "Cinder I am NOT food! I am a Ghost! That bumbling idiot's Ghost to be exact."

"Hey!" Mason said indignantly from the floor.

"Woooow! Wait does that mean you're dead?" Cinder said pointing to Mason as he got up.

Silence. Very awkward and very tense silence filled the air.

Cinder couldn't have known what she had said was closer to the truth than she thought, but the idea that she had guessed correctly still shocked both the Ghost and Guardian.

"Uh. No." Mason let out a nervous laugh, scratching the back of his head. "If I was dead I wouldn't be here right now."

"Then why do you have a ghost? AH! You're a Zombie aren't you! You and your ghost are just friends working to eat my brains, aren't you?" Cinder jumped from the chair and hid behind it.

Again she was technically correct, creating more awkward silence.

"Well I can say that this was definitely not one of the outcomes I predicted…" Neir slowly said.

"Cinder. We're not zombies or ghosts, the spirit kind I mean." Mason said waving his hand. "Neir is called a Ghost because he can disappear and reappear, like a ghost can."

Cinder peaked over the top of the chair. "You mean you're not going to eat my brains?"

"No, we are not going to eat your brains." Mason assured her.

Cinder stared at the two suspiciously before returning to her seat. "So what is Chocolate then?"

"Well simply put he's a really advanced robot." Mason gestured to the small drone.

"As much as I dislike being referred to as a robot that is the easiest way to explain what I am. AND MY NAME IS NOT CHOCOLATE!" Neir said completely exasperated.

Mason chuckled before scrunching his nose. "Uh, does anyone smell something burning?"

"AHHH!" Cinder yelped quickly extinguishing the flames on her hands, leaving two scorched hand prints on the table. "Sorry…"

"It's fine Cinder. You got excited is all." Mason wave it off. "I had problems like that to before I learned how to control my own fire."

Mason lit a finger on fire to prove his point.

Cinder looked back to her hands. Then she looked to Mason's finger. Then back to her hands. The to the finger and back to her hands again.

She lit a hand and gently grabbed Masons flaming finger. "Hey dad?"

"Yeah?"

"Why don't my flames hurt you like everybody else?" Cinder said still holding his finger.

"Because my fire is stronger than yours right now." Mason said matter-of-factly.

"Then why doesn't your fire hurt me?"

"Because I don't want it to." Mason extinguished his finger.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that, since I made this fire with my body I can tell it who to hurt and who not to hurt." Mason set his finger between the scorched handprints and burnt his finger print into the table. "See?"

"Then does that mean I can make my fire not hurt people?" Cinder asked excitedly.

"Probably? I'm not sure to be honest with you, but we can always experiment and find out." Mason said. "Anyway, are you ready to head to Vale and get some new clothes."

"Yup." Cinder popped the P as she hopped of the chair. "Are we taking the spaceship?"

"It's a Bullhead, but yes we're tanking the spaceship." Mason set her plate into the sink and followed her out of the kitchen towards the front door."

"YAY!" Cinder shouted and she bolted out the door.

Mason threw on his cloak and followed after her.

It was easy to see why Cinder thought Mason's bullhead was a spaceship, because it was one. Cinder didn't need to know that of course. The ship was long and sleek with a faded orange paint job. Two engines in the back rested with their afterburners cold with the rudders and air-brakes just above them. Sprayed on the side were the words _Fatal Vison._

"Spaceship!" Cinder ran towards the Bullhead. (Read: Spaceship he arrived on)

"Alright! Alright. Hold your horses let me get the door." Mason made his way over to the ship and lowered the stairs. They used the stair's because after the first time Cinder had been transmatted into the ship she had puked all over the floor. After that Mason had decided that it was better to wait until she was older to try transmatting again.

They made their way onboard the ship and Mason sat down into the cockpit. Cinder sat in one of the three extra seats onboard.

"Ready Cinder?" Mason said over his shoulder.

"YEAH!" Cinder shouted just as she finished buckling her harness.

Mason started the engines and with a light pull of the throttle the ship ascended into the air and made its way towards Vale.

…

 ** _Line Break_**

…

Cinder and Mason made their way down the street. Mason was carrying several bags of clothing Cinder had picked out and now they were on their way back to the ship.

"Hey dad?"

"Mmm?" Mason hummed.

"On the Bullhead. What's behind the door that says _Danger Explosixs_ on it?"

Mason let out a light laugh. "It's pronounced explosives Cinder."

"Explosives?" Cinder repeated the word a few times getting a feel for how to say it.

"Yup. Remember that gun I had when I adopted you?"

"Yeah?"

"Well I have more in there. It's a Vault of sorts." Mason said.

"What's a vault?" Cinder looked up at him.

"Think of it as a really big safe."

"Ooooohhhh."

The two kept walking until they reached a book store. It modest with books lining the windows. Above the door the sign read _Tuckson's Book Trade._ Painted on a window was the stores catchphrase "Home to every book under the sun."

Cinder kept walking but Mason stopped.

"Hey Cinder, hold on I want you to meet someone." He said.

Cinder stopped and turned around. "Is it another ghost?"

Mason laughed. "No it's not. Just follow me and I'll introduce you."

The two walked into the store a small bell ringing as the door was opened.

"Welcome to Tukson's Book Trade. Home to every book under the sun." A young, well-built man said from behind a counter.

"Good to see you too Tukson!" Mason waved.

"Mason! Good to see you!" Tukson waved as he walked out from behind the counter his thick black tail swinging behind him. "How's Vale been treating you?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Mason shook Tukson's hand. "But I can't complain especially after you helped me out like you did. I actually wanted you to meet someone."

Mason besides himself. "This is my adopted daughter Cinder Fall."

Tukson looked confused. "Uh Mason there's no one-"

Tukson stood ramrod straight.

"It's so soft…." Cinder said rubbing Tukson's tail against her face. "Hey mister why do you have a tail?"

"Cinder I'm sure he'd love to answer your question but you can't just run up to someone and touch them without permission." Mason crossed his arms trying his hardest to hold in his laughter.

Cinder made a pouty face but let go of Tukson's tail.

Tukson relaxed a bit "It's ok Mason. I wasn't expecting it is all."

"No don't say that. I know that the Animal parts of a faunus are sensitive. She shouldn't have touched your tail without asking." Mason waved him off. "Now Cinder say sorry."

"Sorry…" Cinder looked down and poked her fingers together.

"I-It's okay. You didn't know." Tukson slightly stuttered.

"So anyway, this is my daughter Cinder Fall." Mason said gesturing to the embarrassed child. "Cinder meet Tukson. We helped each other out when we first moved to Vale."

"Hello Mr. Tukson." Cinder smiled. "Hey dad why does he have a tail?"

"Don't ask me. Ask him." Mason gestured to Tukson.

"Mr. Tukson? Why do you have a tail?" Cinder asked.

"Well. I'm a faunus. We're humans, just with some animal traits like tails, claws, or cat ears." Tukson gestured to his tail and extended his claws.

"Woah." Cinder was wide eyed. "That's so cool….."

"Hey Cinder why don't you look around a bit. I want to talk to Tukson about some stuff." Mason said.

"Okay!" Cinder jogged off to browse the books.

Tukson took Mason into his office and they sat at a desk across from each other.

"Well? What brings you back here?" Tukson said. "You usually aren't in Vale without a reason."

"Three reasons." Mason held up three fingers. "One: I needed to buy new clothes for my kid."

"I saw. It's good to see that you're raising her to not dislike the faunus." Tukson nodded.

"Wrong, I'm not raising her to like the faunus, I'm raising her to form her own opinions." Mason said before continuing. "Two: I hadn't seen you in a while so I figured why not stop by since it's on the way to the hangers."

Tukson nodded again.

"And three: I looked into the White Fang like you asked."

Tukson raised a brow. "And?"

"You have the payment?" Mason said.

Tukson reached under his desk and pulled out a briefcase and handed it to Mason. Mason opened the case and saw it was filled with vials of different types of dust. He closed the case and nodded.

"If that was the discounted price I'd hate to see the normal price you ask for." Tukson said. "Junior charges a lot for black market dust."

"I know." Mason said. "Anyway, as I was saying, I looked into the White Fang. You know the basics, a new faunus civil rights group dedicated to peacefully resolving the racism and discrimination faunus face yada yada yada."

"Yes, I know." Tukson leaned back in his chair.

"Well they are led by a man named Ghira Belladonna. His wife, Kali Belladonna, might be involved as well but so far that's just a rumor. While the organization itself is peaceful, the potential for violent splinter groups to form is very VERY high, especially with how the Schnee Dust company keeps making the papers with its horrible working conditions. They are currently based in Menagerie and most other branches act largly independently from each other."

Mason reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope and handed it to Tukson. "Here's a packet of other miscellaneous info I gathered along with a letter of recommendation from one of the current leaders of the Vale branch. I've changed the name so you can use it to join if you want to."

Tukson nodded again. "Thanks for the info. Seems like you live up to your reputation, ey _Phantom._ "

Mason scoffed. "Please I'm the best at what I do. And don't call me that. We're friends. To you I'm just Mason Vermillion. Well technically it's Fall now but you know what I mean."

"Oh? You're adopting Cinder's last name?" Tukson put away the envelope.

"Might as well. It'll make her happy that's for sure." Mason waved off the question. "But seriously I can't believe my name turned into Phantom."

"Well it is what you are. Always unseen, leaving no trace you were there aside from missing documents money and weapons."

"My name was _Hunter_ because THAT is what I am. I exist. I'm not some specter." Mason sighed. "I have this cloak for a reason dammit."

"You know you've made it big in the underworld when you're complaining about the code name you earned." Tukson laughed. "I was going to ask why you always have a cloak but based on what you said I'll guess it's supposed to show what you are." Tukson said.

"Yeah. Shows that I'm a hunter. Every one of us has a cloak and everyone is different and each has a story behind it."

"So what's the story behind your's?" Tukson gestured to Mason's cloak.

The cloak was a orangey-red color with six circles placed in two columns of three. In each circle, there was a dot. The cloak its self was rather large reaching down to the middle of Mason's calf. Mason kept the hood down preferring to have the fur that lined it around his neck instead of his face. Holes peppered the cloak and it was showing obvious signs of age.

"It's the cloak of Taniks the Scarred. The short version is that I lost a few friends on a mission. Target was wearing this when I killed him and in remembrance of my fireteam I took his cloak. I'll give you the long version when you come to visit for dinner one of these days." Mason fidgeted with his cloak.

The two friends continued to chat for a few more minutes before Mason saw the time and said his goodbyes. The two left the office and found Cinder pouring over a book.

"Whatcha' reading there Cinder?" Mason asked.

"I dunno but there's a magic lady who makes fire like me!" Cinder grinned and pointed to a picture of an orange woman launching a fireball.

"Huh how about that. Do you want to buy it? I'll read it to you." Mason said.

"REALLY!" Cinder beamed. "YAY!"

The three made their way to the counter and mason paid for the book.

Tukson smiled. "Alright that will be 10.56 for the copy of _The Story of the Seasons_."

* * *

 **AN**

* * *

 **Alright there's chapter 2 for everyone. Like I promised it's much happier than the previous one.**

 **Now a bit of information on Tukson. His age and type of faunus is never specified so I assumed that in cannon he is a Jaguar faunus and roughly 40 or so years old. Making him 26 currently in this story. I figured he was some sort of cat faunus since he and Blake appeared to be friends and he had retractable claws like a cat does. As for why he was 40, well he looked like a middle-aged man in the show.**

 **I was going to include a shopping scene in this chapter but was not sure how to write it out. If you guys would like to see that let me know and I'll see what I can do.**

 **As always feel free to review and pm me suggestions.**

 **Have a good one everybody.**

 **-Zeak-**


	4. Ch 3: Even Roses Wilt

**Alright here we are with Chapter 3 Everyone. I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. And dam… I don't know if over two thousand views in 2 updates is considered good but wow. At least people seem to be interested in the story.**

 **Reviews:**

 **TheRealCactcoos: You better believe that this would screw up the cannon timeline. That's hopefully what will happen should I ever get there. As for ideas, just pm me or leave a review.**

 **Eccoolasice: That is a very valid gripe to have about this story and I have only 2 reasons why there isn't more suspicion from cinder. 1: she's only six and has only just found someone who treats her like a human being so she has become very clingy rather than distrusting and 2: that's not really the dynamic I was going for in this story. Hope that answers your gripe.**

 **Now then. On to the chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Even Roses Wilt

* * *

 _-2 months after the previous chapter, Mason's house-_

It was dark outside. Snow was falling and smoke rose from the chimney of Mason's home. Inside a fire roared as Cinder sat wrapped snuggly in a blanket. Mason sat in a chair nearby with a book in his hands, reading to Cinder.

"And so, the four maidens left the old man's home to journey across Remnant. Spreading their gifts and bringing the seasons to everyone. The End." Mason said as he closed the book. "Well? How was it?"

The only reply Mason received was the light snoring coming from Cinder.

"Heh guess you had a long day, huh?" Mason scooped up his daughter and brought her to her room. He set her in her bed and made his way back to the living room sitting in front of the fire again.

Mason sighed contently. Up to this point he had been doing a reasonably good job of raising Cinder. He had gotten her over her fear of fire and she had gained some weight, no longer looking like a starving child. There was still the issue of her fearing her semblance, but he would figure that out when the time came.

Speaking of her semblance, he still had no idea how she had unlocked her aura in the first place. Supposedly one's aura didn't unlock without outside help or intense training. His best guess at this point was that she had unlocked it through a sheer will to survive while she was living on the streets.

He had had Neir run a scan while she had accidentally used her semblance a few times and had come to a discovery. She wasn't generating fire like a guardian's using Sol light, but was instead using glyphs to summon fire. From what he could tell the glyphs she made were small and hard to see, so it was easy to think she was spontaneously bursting into flames. They reminded him of the glyphs of the Schnee family. He would have to look more deeply into the Schnee glyphs to see if he could use any of the information to help his daughter.

"Neir?" Mason said.

The ghost materialized in front of Mason and hovered in the air. "Yes Mason?"

"See what you can find me on the Schnee family semblance. And while you're at it see, if anyone has contacted us for any jobs they want done, we're running out of dust we can use to synthesize glimmer from."

That had been a lucky break when they had discovered that dust could easily be broken down into glimmer. Neir and Mason spent several days after that discovery working on building a glimmer synthesizer where they could convert dust into the programable matter.

Neir shook back and forth. "Sorry Mason but I can't get you much information on the Schnee semblance. Most of that data is held in a closed computer system at the Schnee estate in Atlas. I'd need direct access if you wanted detailed information. All I can tell you right now is that they seem to be a sort of projection glyph."

"Guess we'll have to sneak in then, next time we're over there." Mason said moving towards the kitchen.

Neir floated after him. "As for any jobs, it's only the usual. Information gathering, burglary, and unfortunately you have another assassination request."

"Any of them from notable people?" Mason asked as he turned on the stove to make some hot chocolate.

"No but you did get a request from the new kid on the block. Oddly he gave us his name, Roman Torchwick. Says he wants you to be one of his henchmen in a dust raid." Neir projected a picture of a man in a white suit with orange hair and a cane.

"Kid's got balls. I'll give him that. Not many people approach me right out of the gate and I'm still technically new to all this." Mason stirred the pot. "How much dust are we talking here? A truckload? A warehouse full?"

Neir shook again. "No just a small store."

"Ha. The kid's paranoid his first heist will mess up. Send him a message stating my refusal. Tell him to come seek me out when he has something bigger planned and has a bit more of a reputation." Mason smirked.

"Now what was that about an assassination request? They should know that I don't do those. Yet at least." Mason let a hint of malice enter his voice. "I haven't even finished putting together a black book with minimum prices for specific targets."

Neir made a nodding motion. "Yes. As usual the request was anonymous with a price fitting for the target. And let me tell you, if you complete this we are set for years. That's probably why they sent it to you, hoping the money would entice you."

"Oh? Who do they want dead and how much are they paying?"

"Several million lien, and a half a ton of Schnee refined dust. They want you to go after the _White Rose_. Formally known as Summer Rose, leader of the huntsman team STRQ."

Mason was quiet but Neir could tell his anger level was rising.

"Tell me Neir…" Mason said in an even tone. "I have sent out my policies for what I do and when my services become available. Correct?"

"Yes, you have."

"THEN WHY IN THE TRAVELERS NAME DID THEY THINK I'D DO THIS JOB!" Mason exploded. "THEY KNOW I HAVEN'T OPENED UP MY SERVICES TO ASSASSINATION YET, THEY KNOW I DON'T ATTACK LAW ENFORCEMENT, AND THEY SURE AS CROTA'S DICK KNOW I DON'T TOUCH HUNTSMEN, LET ALONE ONE AS FAMOUS AS SUMMER ROSE!"

"Mason calm down it's-" Neir tried to say but Mason cut him off.

"NO! I WILL NOT CALM DOWN! HOW MANY DAM TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL THEM! THIS IS, WHAT, LIKE THE FIFTIETH TIME? I MAY BE A CRIMINAL BUT GOD DAMMIT IF I DON'T HAVE STANDARDS! THEY WANT INFORMATION? FINE! THEY WANT SOMETHING STOLEN? JUST MAKE SURE YOU PAY ME! HELL, I'LL EVEN-"

Mason was cut off by a tight tug on his shirt.

"Dad?" Cinder rubbed the sleep from her eyes and brushed her hair out of her face. "Why are you yelling at Chocolate?"

Mason looked down at Cinder, his anger fading quickly, before letting out a sigh. "Sorry sweetie. Daddy isn't yelling at Chocolate, just a bit frustrated at the moment."

"Are stupid people annoying you again?" Cinder yawned.

It was not the first time she had seen him loose his cool. As a matter-of-fact she helped calm him down most of the time whenever his temper got the better of him.

Mason let out a tired chuckle before giving his daughter a hug. "Yeah. Stupid people want stupid things."

Cinder hugged him back. "It's ok Dad. They're stupid."

Mason let out a more cheerful laugh. "Yeah they are."

Mason withdrew from the embrace of his daughter and they made their way back to the living room and sat quietly in front of the dwindling fire, Cinder wrapped in a blanket on Mason's lap.

"Hey Dad?" Cinder asked.

"Mmm?"

"You're warm." Cinder snuggled into Mason as mason let out a light laugh.

"Really? I wonder why?" Mason smiled, before holding out his hand and creating several small wisps of flame.

Cinder watched as the wisps gently bobbed around them.

"Pretty…" Cinder lightly said. "Hey Dad? Can you show me how to do that?"

"Mabye when you're a bit older." Mason ruffled her long black hair. "It's very difficult and can be dangerous."

Cinder huffed. "I'm six years old. I'm strong enough. You'll see."

Mason laughed again gently hugging his daughter. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see for you to prove me wrong."

They sat quietly in each other's arms in front of the fire for some time before Neir spoke out.

"Mason! We have movement on the scanners outside." Neir sounded worried. "The snow storm is disrupting the signal so I can't get a clear picture but whatever is out there, there is a lot of it."

Mason's expression turned sour. "You would think that the grimm would have learned to stay away from here by now."

Mason and Cinder stood up and made their way to the door.

Donning his cloak, winter boots, and a strange iron knights helmet, Mason turned to his daughter. "Wanna watch your old man fight some monsters?"

Cinder's eyes glowed in admiration. "Yeah!"

"Then go grab your coat. It's cold outside."

A moment later the two were standing on the snow-covered porch. Cinder was bundled up in her orange parka and boots. Mason pulled out his old hand-cannon and stepped off the porch into the falling snow. Sounds of a fight could be heard approaching the house from the forest.

"Cinder. Stay here. You can watch but I don't want you getting hurt." Mason said scanning the clearing.

A moment later Mason moved out, and not a moment too soon. Just as Mason stepped away from his home several figures burst through the tree line. The black bipedal creatures stood up, their red eyes pricing the white vale through the bone protrusions on their bodies. The Beowulves stood from where they had been knocked down, two of them didn't instead slowly dissolving into black mist.

"Oh, there sure are a lot of you this time. Well come on! Let's dance!" Mason said to the monsters.

They ignored him and ran back into the tree line towards the sounds of battle.

"HEY!" Mason yelled indignantly before charging after them. "DON'T IGNORE ME!"

Mason raced after the grimm. Dodging around trees and weaving under branches he chased the grimm until he came to another clearing in the forest. The Beowulves he had been chasing disappeared into the storm as he took in the sight around him.

All around him were the dissipating corpses of fallen grimm. Dozens of Beowulf corpses littered the ground. Here and there several Ursa lay slowly dissolving into smoke. Towards the edge of the clearing sat the tails of three Deathstalkers, the rest of their body's having dissolved. Long feathers peppered the clearing, the only sign that Nevermores had joined the fight.

In the center stood a short figure. A torn white cloak hid most of the figure's body but judging by the blood on its white fabric and the snow around them, whoever this was hadn't come out unscathed from the encounter.

Mason whistled "Hooooo boy. I haven't seen this many corpses since we tried to take back the moon."

The figure turned around slightly, just reveling the side of its face, at the sound of his voice. Looking back at Mason was a woman with black hair with red tips. For all Mason knew, that could be blood but his time here on Remnant had drastically changed what he considered normal hair. She was pale and had bright silver eyes.

"I take it this was your doing?" Mason asked.

The woman said nothing. A gust of wind blew by ruffling both figures cloaks, revealing the woman's blood-stained clothing and missing arm.

The woman seemed to let out a sigh before turning away. She extended something, a weapon by the looks of it, and used it as a walking stick before slowly walking off.

"Hey!" Mason strode towards her. "You're hurt! Stop and let me-"

Mason went to reach out but the woman collapsed not five steps from where she had been standing. He ran to the fallen woman and rolled her over. From a distance, all Mason could see was the missing arm, but now that he was right next to her fallen form he could see just how bad everything really was.

"Holy…" Mason muttered almost silently.

The woman had been wearing a red and black combat skirt, emphasis on had. What was left was nothing more than rags. Massive cuts and gashes crisscrossed the woman's abdomen and organs could be clearly seen through some of the deeper gouges. The missing arm was torn off at the shoulder and the woman's left foot was bent in such a way that the toes were pointed backwards. Her right arm was missing chunks of flesh, likely taken by attacking Beowulves. A Massive bruise had formed at her mid left thigh indicating a broken femur. Her face was covered in blood from a large cut somewhere in her hair and a part of her cheek had been torn off exposing her teeth.

"Traveler… Not even a titan would be able to stand after something like this…" Mason said. "Neir, I'm probably asking a stupid question but is she even alive at this point?"

The chocolate brown ghost appeared and scanned the woman for signs of life. "Negative Guardian. There are no signs of life."

"Dad?" A voice called out from behind Mason.

"Cinder? What are you doing out here? I told you to wait on the porch?" Mason turned to look at his daughter through the falling snow.

"Well you ran off… and you said I could watch you fight so I thought maybe you wanted me to follow you…" Cinder looked down and poked her gloved fingers together.

Mason sighed. "You should have stayed back but there's no helping it now. Stay there, you don't need to see this."

Mason wrapped the fallen woman with her white cloak before standing. "Best bring her back so we can bury her."

Mason went to pick up the corpse but he stopped. He had heard a cry over the wind.

"Cinder did you say something?" Mason asked.

"No?" Cinder said confused.

"Neir scan the area. What was that noise." Mason said trying to see through the snow.

The ghost bobbed in acknowledgement before expanding into a blue ball, releasing a pulse every three seconds.

"Edge of the clearing just to the north, I'm detecting a small lifeforce." Neir said before collapsing into his normal form.

"Cinder follow me. I don't want you to wander off." Mason said.

Cinder nodded and trotted over next to her father. A moment later the duo was next to the tree where Neir had detected the life signature.

"Neir? You sure you detected something over here?" Mason said.

"Yes. The scan showed a steady heartbeat near this tree."

"Dad! Look!" Cinder ran a head a few steps before picking something up.

"What did you find Cinder?" Mason said as Cinder walked back, object in hand.

"A basket? What's it doing out here?" Mason peaked into the wicker container as Cinder held it up to him.

Inside was a blanket a small red rose embroidered into it with the word _RUBY_ just below it. Pulling away the top of the cloth he revealed the sleeping face of a young girl who couldn't have been more than a year old.

"Who…" Mason stopped and turned back to the dead woman. "Why in the light did she bring a baby out here?"

"Dad? What's in the basket?" Cinder asked trying to peek into the wicker container.

 _GRRRRRRRR_

Mason ignored his daughters question and looked around. Red eyes were staring at them through the falling snow. Muffled growls could be heard coming from all directions.

"No time! We need to leave! Now!" Mason scooped up his daughter and the basket before sprinting back towards his home. In his rush, he was unable to take the corpse of what was likely the baby's mother.

…

 _The Next Morning_

 _…_

Two people stood over a small patch of freshly dug dirt beneath a large pine tree. A small stone sat squarely in the center with a long metal pole sticking into the ground just behind it. Tied to the pole was a strip of white, bloody, cloth. It was a grave, a grave for an unknown fallen huntress.

After bringing Cinder and the baby home last night Mason had woken up to go and retrieve the dead huntress. What he found was nothing more than her weapon, torn cloak, a few shreds of her combat skirt, and four small shards of bone. Mason had gathered these up and brought them back to his house where he found Cinder feeding the young child they had found.

Mason put weapon in his vault for safe keeping, while the bone fragments and scraps of skirt were put into a small metal tin before it was sealed. Soon after he made his way outside to dig the grave.

Now the grave was complete, with the metal pole and stone serving as a marker, they stood in silence.

Cinder wanted to ask what was happening but her dad looked upset so she decided to keep quiet.

Mason said nothing only looking at the small child held in his arms. The child had the same silver eyes and black hair the mother had and was sleeping peacefully. Wrapped in her mother's cloak the child gently snored.

Mason let out a tired sigh before gently smiling at the sleeping baby. "Well Ruby… Welcome to the family…"

* * *

 **AN**

* * *

 **HOOO BOY. That got a bit dark… eh oh well.**

 **Now before anyone gets confused as to why Mason didn't recognize Summer even though he clearly knew who she was earlier in the chapter here's a few reasons why.**

 **1\. It was night time and heavily snowing.**

 **2\. She was heavily disfigured after her fight with the grimm**

 **3\. He was more focused on trying to figure out how to help her more than on who she was.**

 **Anyway, so now Ruby has joined our happy little family and I am happy to announce that I will be going into the cannon storyline! It just won't be for a while since… well everyone has to grow up and there are way too many cute and fun things I can do with two small children and a single dad.**

 **For those who are curious, I am slowly revealing Mason's gear and equipment loadout throughout the story. Currently this is what has been revealed.**

 **Helmet- Iron Companion Mask**

 **Cloak- Cloak of Taniks**

 **Artifact- Memory of Gheleon**

 **Primary Weapon- Lord High Fixer (Hand Cannon Destiny 1)**

 **Ghost- Sugary shell (AKA Chocolate Shell)**

 **Ship- Fatal Vision**

 **And there you go all of Mason's currently revealed gear. Don't worry the rest will be revealed in time as the story progresses. Next chapter will be nice and light, though I can't promise it will be very long since what I have planned isn't very much.**

 **Now a question I pose to you all. What are your opinions on a love interest for Mason/motherly figure for the kids? Personally, I can enjoy writing the story with or without it either way but I figured I'd ask all of you if it would be something you're all interested in seeing.**

 **As always feel free to leave a review and PM me any suggestions for the story. Please, they greatly help boost my confidence.**

 **Have a good one everybody**

 **-Zeak-**


	5. Ch 4: First Steps

**And we're back with another chapter. Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Sorry for the two-day late update. Just had my wisdom teeth removed so I was completely out of it and unable to publish this.**

 **Currently people seem to be indifferent to pairings and those who do seem to want Amber as the pairing. The only problem with that is the age difference. In the show, it seems that Amber is around Cinders age so pairing an adult guardian with her at least to me feels really weird, but I can see where you are all coming from. Now that suggestion for Glynda however… that would be… interesting…**

 **Eh we'll see what happens. I might put up a poll to get a general consensious.**

 **Reviews:**

 **MEleeSmasher: Yeah sorry about that but I could only get Ruby as Mason's daughter if Summer died. But I agree we have all been spoiled by ptabs Remnant of a Rose stories. Which I highly recommend if anyone hasn't read them yet**

 **Artyom-Dreizehn: Thanks for the vote of confidence and here's your fluffy chapter! I completely agree with the points you're making about the ages of characters and we'll just have to wait and see what happens.**

 **Guest: Thanks glad you are enjoying the story. I definitely agree that there aren't enough fluffy family stories in the destiny community but that is to be expected from a technically post-apocalyptic space shooter. As for Ruby going back to her own parents you will just have to read and find out.**

 **\- She will meet her half-sister eventually I won't say when but she will.**

 **Anyway, onto the story.**

* * *

Chapter 4: First Steps

* * *

 _-1 month later Cinder age: 6 Ruby age: 1-_

"Come on sweetie! Come to papa!" Mason smiled and waved towards himself with gusto as Ruby slowly crawled towards him.

"NO!" Cinder tackled Mason out of the way before sitting up with open arms "Don't listen to him Ruby! Come to your big sis!"

Mason quickly recovered from being tackled and quickly scooped up Ruby and held her up in the air. "Naw, you want to hang out with your dad don't you."

"Hey! No fair!" Cinder was jumping up trying to get ahold of Ruby. "You can't hold her like that!"

"Oh but I am!" Mason smiled devilishly.

Cinder crossed her arms and made a pouty face. "I wanna play with Ruby too Dad. You can't just hog her all to yourself."

"And why not?" Mason feigned an innocent look. "I am her father, am I not?"

"Because I am her sister and I wanna play with her too!" Cinder stomped her foot. "Chocolate!"

"Yes Cinder?" Neir materialized out of the air.

"Distract dad!" Cinder said as she snagged Ruby from her adoptive father's grasp and made a run for it.

"HEY!" Mason shouted as he made to chase Cinder.

Neir made a noise that sounded like a sigh before he materialized a pile of gear in front of Mason, who proceeded to trip and fall over.

"TRAITOR!" Mason shouted indignantly from the pile of gear.

Mason quickly scrambled to chase his daughters in an attempt to regain possession of his youngest child. "Come back here!"

Meanwhile Cinder was running down the hall, Ruby held tightly against her chest.

"Come on Ruby, we got to run from Dad before he takes you away from me!" Cinder panted.

Ruby just giggled as her arms flailed around in excitement.

Cinder ran with Ruby from quickly ducking into a closet filled to the brim with clothes, sheets, and other household items.

"Shhhh." Cinder held a finger to her lips. "Quiet. He'll never find us here."

Ruby giggled again, playing with the loose strands of Cinder's black hair.

The two girls sat in the closet as they listened to their dad run around the house.

"Where did those two run off to?" Mason said scratching his head. "Neir will you-"

"No."

"Awe why not?" Mason whined.

"Because you are playing with your kids. Stop trying to use me to cheat. You're a hunter. You should have no trouble finding them." Neir retorted.

"Ugh. Fine. Can you at least tell me what part of the-"

"No."

"Party pooper…" Mason grumbled.

"Alright. Well if I was a six-year-old hiding from her dad where would I hide." Mason said as he put his hands on his hips and scanned the living room.

"Hmmm…" Mason cupped his chin. "Bet they went and hid under my bed again."

Mason ran down the all towards his room, before stopping in front of the closet. He could have sworn he heard a giggle come from in there. Slowly a smile wormed its way onto his face.

"Oh no? Where ever could they have gone!" Mason said loudly.

Another giggle came from the closet.

"I guess I'll just have to check the bedroom!" Mason continued.

Mason waited a moment, then throwing open the closet door Mason grabbed his daughters.

"EEEEEP!" Cinder screamed as Mason hauled her out of the closet, Ruby resting on a pile of coats.

"GOTCHA!" Mason yelled as he held Cinder above his head and began to tickle her. "You can't hide from your old man!"

"AHAHA! Stop! It tickles!" Cinder laughed as she struggled to free herself from the tickling hands of her dad. "AHAHA!"

A minute later Mason released his daughter and picked up Ruby. "Now how about we get you two fed. It is lunchtime so anything in particular you want?"

"Oooh can I have that sandwich you made a few days ago?" Cinder asked.

"Which one?"

"The one with the Jelly and brown stuff!"

"Sure, I can make you a peanut butter and jelly." Mason said as he sat Ruby down in the living room to play with her toys. "Wanna help?"

"Sure!" Cinder jumped and ran into the kitchen before peeking her head around the door. "Can we make cookies after too?"

"Well we're out of oatmeal so we can't make your favorite but we can make a new kind for you to try." Mason smiled as he made his way into the kitchen.

"Ooo what kind?" Cinder ran to the counter.

"There called chocolate chip cookies. Most consider them to be the best cookie ever created." Mason quickly grabbed the ingredients to make a PB&J and set to work.

"Impossible!" Cinder exclaimed. "Oatmeal cookies are the best! I don't believe you!"

"Then you'll just have to try them and find out" Mason said as he quickly finished making Cinder's sandwich. "Here's your sandwich."

"Yay!" Cinder smiled. "Thanks dad!"

"No problem kid." Mason ruffled Cinder's hair.

Ten minutes later after Cinder had finished eating her sandwich and Mason had finished feeding Ruby her baby food, Mason and Cinder went to start baking the cookies.

"Alright Cinder. What do you think we need for Chocolate Chip Cookies?" Mason said.

"Uh Chocolate?"

"Bingo!" Mason grabbed a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips from the cupboard. "Anything else?"

"Uh well we always use eggs in the oatmeal cookies so eggs?"

"Yup!" Mason grabbed 2 eggs from the fridge and set them on the counter.

"You also always have that white powder stuff too so that, uh… flower! That's it!" Cinder said.

"Good!" Mason took down a bag of flower and set it next to the eggs. "Any more ideas?"

"Uh…" Cinder closed her eyes thinking. "Sugar?"

"Yup, but what kind, Brown or White?"

"Brown?" Cinder questioned.

"Wrong we need both!" Mason smiled picking the packets of sugar from the cupboard.

"Hey! I was right then! We still need the brown sugar." Cinder complained.

"But you didn't get it completely right so therefore you were wrong!" Mason teased.

"No I was right!"

"Wrong!"

"Right!"

"Right!" Mason smiled.

"Wrong" Cinder said before looking confused. "Hey! No fair you tricked me!"

"Me?" Mason looked hurt. "I would never!"

"Liar!" Cinder grumbled.

Mason ruffled her hair again. "Maybe, maybe not! Any more things we need?"

"The Cookie Bowl!" Cinder said excitedly.

"I meant ingredients."

"Oh… I don't know then."

"Well you got quite a bit, but we still need butter, salt, water, baking soda, and vanilla." Mason said as he took each ingredient from where it was stored.

"Vanilla? What's that?" Cinder asked as she looked at the small bottle labeled _Pure Vanilla Extract._

"I'll show you." Mason poured a small amount into the cap of the bottle and gave it to Cinder. "Smell it."

Cinder gently took the cap, careful not to spill any of the vanilla, and took a deep sniff. Her eyes widened and she gasped. "IT SMELLS SO GOOD!"

"I know right." Mason laughed. "Just don't-"

Mason's words died in his throat as Cinder took a straight shot of pure vanilla extract.

"oh no…" Mason mumbled.

Cinder's face went from pure joy to confusion to one of absolute disgust with hints of betrayal sprinkled here and there.

Cinder gagged and coughed trying to get the extremely bitter taste out of her mouth. After a moment, she ran to the sink and started to chug water straight from the tap, water glasses be dammed.

"WHY!" Cinder yelled in between gulps of water. "HOW CAN IT SMELL SO GOOD, BUT TASTE SO GROSS?"

Mason was barely holding back is laughter. "I tried to warn you but you drank it before I could tell you not too."

"AND YOU PUT THAT IN COOKIES!" Cinder yelled.

"Hey, we put it in your oatmeal cookies too."

Cinder looked absolutely betrayed. "WHY?"

"Stop yelling, and because it makes the cookies smell nice."

Mason let Cinder regain her composure before they started making the cookies in earnest. Mason set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (175 degrees Celsius for anyone not in America) before turning to Cinder.

"Ok, so what goes in first?" Mason asked.

"The flower?"

"Nope." Mason poured the flower into the steel bowl. "Any other ideas?"

"Um… I don't know." Cinder said.

"First we put the butter and sugar in together." Mason mixed the ingredients together "Then we beat the eggs in one at a time." Mason grabbed the eggs.

"Oh! Can I crack them?" Cinder asked.

"Sure." Mason handed her the two eggs. "Remember how?"

"Yup! You tap them on the side like this!" Cinder tapped the eggs on the rim of the bowl before she peeled the two halves of the shell apart.

"Good. Next we add a little bit of vanilla to the batter."

"Blech!" Cinder made a sour face and the mention of vanilla.

"Then we add some water to another bowl and mix in the baking soda and pour it in." Mason said as he completed the step.

"Then the we pour in the flower, right?" Cinder asked.

"Yup." Mason said as he poured the flour into the bowl. "And now we mix it."

Mason grabbed a spatula and stirred the ingredients together until it looked like a light brown paste.

Mason handed Cinder the spatula when he finished mixing. "Here lick it."

Cinder eyed the batter covered utensil with suspicion clearly not trusting it after the recent betrayal of Vanilla. Slowly she scrapped a bit off with her finger and stuck it in her mouth.

She smiled happily. "Mmmmm" before long the spatula was completely clean.

Mason laughed. "Good huh."

"Uh hu!" Cinder nodded in agreement. "Can I have more?"

"Nope." Mason said as he took a glob on his finger and ate it.

"Pleaasssseeee?" Cinder begged lightly tugging on Masons shirt.

"Nope." Mason repeated as he went and grabbed a cookie pan. As he turned around he found Cinder with a gob of cookie dough in her hands happily munching on the battery goodness.

"Hey!" Mason said quickly.

Cinder knowing, she had been caught red handed showed the rest of the dough into her tiny mouth before smiling innocently. "What is it Dad?"

"You little…" Mason narrowed his eyes at her.

Cinder swallowed the cookie dough and smiled again.

"Guess you don't want any cookies then." Mason said.

"Nonono!" Cinder let out a long slur of apologies. "PleasenoIwantcookiesI'msorryIwontdoitagainIpromiseI'msorry!"

"Heh alright. Apology accepted." Mason poked her forehead. Now come on we still got to put the chocolate chips in."

Mason put little globs of dough on the cookie pan until he was out of dough. As he did this Cinder sprinkled the chocolate chips on top. When they finished, Mason turned and put the pan into the oven and set the timer for ten minutes.

"And now we wait." Mason said.

Five minutes later the smell of cookies began to permeate throughout the house.

"Mmmm." Mason grinned. "I love the smell of cookies in the oven."

Cinder was too busy staring into the oven to notice what he had said.

A moment later the door to the kitchen was pushed open with an audible creak.

"Psst! Cinder!" Mason poked his daughters shoulder getting her attention. "Look."

There in the doorway stood little baby Ruby. Her black hair hung parted to the side, sliver eyes gleaming with curiosity. Slowly she let go of the door jamb and took a few tentative steps forward. Steadying herself whenever she began to wobble.

Mason quickly sat on the floor arms wide. "Look at my big girl! Taking her first steps and walking all on her own! Come to papa sweetheart!"

"No! Come to your sister Ruby! Dad's just jealous that you're coming to me and not him. Isn't that right!" Cinder said, sitting in front of Mason waving towards herself.

"Hey! She was coming towards me!" Mason picked Cinder up and set her off to the side. "Come on Ruby you can do this! Daddy is right here."

Ruby kept slowly walking. Mason closed his eyes and smiled at her as she walked towards him. A few minutes passed but he didn't feel the presence of his youngest daughter. He opened his eyes and instead found Cinder hanging her head. He could practically feel the depressive aura she was emitting. Mason quickly looked around for Ruby. He turned around and found her staring intently into the oven.

Mason could feel his heart break and soon found him hanging his head much like Cinder upon realizing that Ruby had no interest in taking her first steps towards them, but instead had walked right past them to the oven.

"S-s-s" Ruby started to make a noise.

Cinder perked up. It sounded like she was trying to say her name.

"Sookies" Ruby said, eyes taking in the sight of the freshly baked cookies in the oven.

The timer went off signaling the cookies were done. Cinder hung her head again, the depressive aura returning, and Ruby just stood staring and giggling, blissfully unaware of the two shattered hearts behind her.

* * *

 **AN**

* * *

 **And after that little cute bit of a heartbreak, that's a wrap! Hope that everyone enjoyed this chapter. I tried to make it as fluffy as I could so hopefully it's up to snuff. As for the cookies Mason and Cinder made this chapter, it is an actual recipe for chocolate chip cookies so feel free to use that if you ever want to make cookies from scratch, or pm me for the actual list form of the recipe.**

 **Unfortunately, college is starting up again for me next week so I will try to keep the once a week update schedule I have but I make no promises. Odds are that you will get another late update this week since I move in next weekend.**

 **Anyway, I hope everyone is having fun reading this.**

 **Have a good one everybody!**

 **-Zeak-**


	6. Ch 5: Partners in Crime

**And we're back. Bit of a longer wait for this update since I want to keep updating on Saturdays but eh here's a slightly longer chapter to make up for that.**

 **Also, YAY over 100 followers and nearly 100 Favorites! Thanks so much for the support everyone!**

 **Now I seem to have forgotten to put a disclaimer in the past chapters so here it is just to be safe.**

 **...**

 **I do not own Destiny, RWBY, or any songs I make use of in this story. (Yes there will be music) That honor goes to Bungie, Roosterteeth, and the respective artists of whatever songs I use.**

 **Now that that is out of the way onto the reviews!**

 **…**

 **Potato man the semi omnipotent- Glad you're ok with it. I plan to have more in the future! Also, I love your username.**

 **Artyom-Dreizehn** **\- Don't worry about the last name bit. All will be revealed in latter chapters!**

 **The Crimson Commando** **\- Like I have said in previous chapters. The pairing is entirely up to you guys. Initially I had planned to write this without one but I figured why not ask everyone if they would like to see one. If there is one it's going to sort of be a kind of fluff filler deal. It's there but not the main focus.**

 **Guest- Fear not. I have plans for all that so expect your concerns about yang and ruby's other family to be answered.**

 **…**

 **Now! On to the Story!**

* * *

Chapter 5: Partners in Crime

* * *

 _-Mason's Home-_

 _~Cinder Age: 7, Ruby Age: 2, Mason Age: Unknown- Estimated at 29~_

"I'm home!" Mason shouted as he closed the door to his house.

"DAD!" Cinder said as she ran and gave Mason a hug.

"Hey there kiddo! How are you? You been behaving?"

Cinder let go. "Yup!"

"Good." Mason patted her head. "How's little Rubes doing?"

As if on cue Ruby's small figure waddled through the door. "Daddy!"

"Ruby!" Mason smiled as he stood up and walked over and picked her up. "How's my little cookie monster doing.

His response was Ruby's happy giggling and laughter.

"I'm going to guess that means you're doing good then." Mason bopped Ruby's nose before setting her down.

Mason turned around and found Cinder staring into the case he had brought home.

"Ooo dad what did you get this time?" Cinder asked. "Was it more of those pretty dust crystals?"

Mason picked up the case and set it on a nearby table.

"Yep. Got some big ones as payment this time too." Mason said as he opened the case.

Inside was an assortment of crystals with colors from brown to red to deep blue to black to even pink. Next to the crystals were four vials of a glowing black powder.

"Oh cool! What's that stuff?" Cinder pointed to the vials of black powder.

"That" Mason said picking up a vial. "Is some gravity dust. It makes things float."

"Woah that's so cool!" Cinder said.

"Watch and learn." Mason smiled.

Mason uncorked the vial and sprinkled some of the dust on a fork that had been lying on the table. A moment later the fork began to float off of the table. Cinder stared wide eyed at the floating piece of silverware. After roughly five seconds of floating aimlessly the fork clattered back onto the table, the effect of the dust having worn off.

"Woah…" Cinder gaped. "Can it make me float?"

Mason laughed. "Yes, it can but you would need more than what we have. Gravity dust only lifts the part it touches, so we would need to cover you in the stuff. Not to mention the dust has a tendency to stain clothing when it touches it."

"Awe…" Cinder looked down dejected.

Mason patted her shoulder "Sorry kid."

Mason recorked the vial of gravity dust and put it back in the case. As he did he noticed Ruby siting on the floor swinging something around. Turning to look he found Ruby swing one of the larger red dust crystals he had brought home.

Mason let out a chuckle before scooping up the girl. "Hey now, having fun?"

Ruby giggled in response, hitting Mason in the face with the crystal.

"Ow." Mason grimaced. "Ok, no more sword for you. Can't have you hitting people with something that might explode."

Mason took the crystal, much to Ruby's dismay as she exclaimed that she wanted the pretty rock back, and put it back in the case. As Mason closed the case he paused.

"Hmmm… A sword… I wonder…" Mason flipped the clips closed on the case. "Neir. Remind me sometime about applying some focused light to dust crystals. I have an idea that is either going to blow me up or I am about to make every single pre-golden age movie nerd back at the tower very jealous."

Neir appeared above the case. "Mason. You're not going to build a lightsaber."

"Oh come on. Why not?" Mason whined.

"Because." Neir bobbed in the air "Not even the best technicians back at the foundries could create one."

"But they didn't have Dust!" Mason said. "You've seen what it can do. It might just be what we need to make one!"

"No Mason. Even if Dust could act as a focusing crystal, it's far too unstable for it. It would only serve to blow up in your face. Besides how would you even get the light beam to stop at some predetermined length or be hot enough to cut through things?" Neir shook his fins in a sign of disagreement.

"I don't know! That's why I want to try! What do I have to lose? Some materials I can easily replace? My life? You can just revive me!" Mason said as he waved his arms around.

"It's NOT going to work Mason. Not even Omolon could get one to work and their specialty is energy weapons!"

Mason just silently stared at his ghost.

"You're still going to try aren't you." Neir said.

Mason nodded.

"And nothing I say will get you to not try?"

Mason nodded again.

"Even if I said it would be a massive waste of time, lien, and resources?"

Mason nodded a third time.

Neir sighed "Fine… but when it doesn't work, I'll be there to say I told you so."

"I know you will." Mason mockingly patted his ghost. "Always are and always will be."

Neir let out a ghost equivalent of a huff before floating off.

"By the way I invited Tukson over for drinks later so expect some company!" Mason shouted towards the ghost.

"I know you idiot! You used me to call him!" Neir shouted back.

"Just making sure you knew!" Mason said before disappearing into the kitchen to make lunch.

 _…_

 _Several hours later_

 _…_

Mason sat on the couch reading the local Vale newspaper when there was a knock on the front door.

"Come on in! It's open!" Mason said without getting off the couch.

The front door opened and in strode the owner and manager of Tukson's Book Trade.

"Tukson! Good to see yah man!" Mason smiled up from his newspaper. "I trust you got here in one piece?"

"Pfft I did but my car didn't. You're paying for the new tires I'm going to need after this." Tukson grumbled.

Mason set his paper down and stood up to shake his friends hand. "Good to see you too."

"Good to see you too Mason." Tukson smiled.

"Come on." Mason waved for Tukson to follow. "The kids probably want to-"

"UNCLE TUKSON!" A black-haired blur flew out of the dining room and tackled the burly Faunus.

"GAH!" Tukson shouted as he soon found himself on the floor with a very happy Cinder on his chest. "What the?!"

"Hi Uncle Tuk!" Cinder smiled. "Did you bring me any books?"

"Wha?" Tukson turned confused towards Mason who was busy howling with laughter.

"Dammit Mason." Tukson sighed closing his eyes. "Cinder can you get off of me please? And no, I don't have any books for you."

"Awe…" Cinder said as she got off of the faunus's chest.

"And what are you laughing at?" Tukson said as he stood up.

Mason took a minute to regain his composure. "Oh traveler! You should have seen your face! It was priceless! You just went down and looked so confused! And that's not even getting into how funny it was watching you get tackled by a four-foot ten child!"

"Oh shut up. You'd have looked the same if it had happened to you." Tukson said.

"Yeah, yeah but it didn't so I'm laughing." Mason patted Tukson on the shoulder. "Cinder go finish your dinner. You can come play with your uncle later."

"Okay." Cinder said as she ran back into the dining room.

Tukson sighed. "She does know that I'm not her uncle, right?"

"Oh I have no doubt that she knows." Mason said. "I just don't think she cares. She chose you as her uncle and I doubt she's going to change that choice."

"Great…" Tukson facepalmed. "Do you have any idea how difficult that that is going to be to explain to my family back in Menagerie?"

"Nope." Mason said as he grabbed a couple of beers from the fridge in the kitchen.

"Of course you don't." Tukson shook his head as he accepted a beer.

The two made their way onto the porch and sat down looking over the ocean through the forest. The two sat in comfortable silence for a time as they nursed their beers. The cold drinks offering a refreshing cool to the warm night.

After some time had passed Mason spoke up. "So. How's the book store doing?"

Tukson took a sip from his bottle. "Can't complain. Business is steady but that might change soon."

"Oh?" Mason quirked an eyebrow. "Why's that?"

"Remember when you told me that the White Fang had the potential to form violent splinter groups?"

"Yeah. I've heard that some have formed. What does that have to do with your book store?" Mason said.

Tukson let out a frustrated sigh. "Well apparently, they exist and they've united, to a degree at least. They have started approaching me trying to get me to join their cause. They want me to manage a part of the organization for them. They say it's because I have combat experience, know how to manage people, and some business experience."

"Ok hold on." Mason held up a hand. "The business experience I get, but you have combat experience? And I thought you were the only one who ran your book shop."

"I am. I used to have a girl named Sadie run the register for me before she left for a better job." Tukson said. "As for combat experience, I grew up in Menagerie. The wild life isn't very friendly so we were all taught how to defend ourselves to some degree. I also happened to join my local militia when I turned 18. We would patrol a bit of the border near where I grew up so I got some fighting experience from them as well."

"Huh. Never would have pegged you for a soldier." Mason sipped his beer.

"Hah." Tukson laughed "I would hardly consider us soldiers. More like the local tough guys decided to help out."

"Still… Experience is experience." Mason said.

"Fair point."

"So the violent White Fang have been approaching you to try and recruit you?" Mason said.

"Yeah. They've come and talked to me several times now. I've been able to turn them down so far but I get the feeling that they're going to force me to close my store and force me to rely on the White Fang payroll more so I'll have to listen to them."

"So you've been rejecting them then?" Mason asked.

"Yes, I just said that." Tukson said.

"Have you tried banning them from your store and reporting them?"

"Do you honestly think that would work?" Tukson raised an eyebrow.

"Just a suggestion." Mason waved him off. "But things are getting tough. At least for people like you. The underworld is having one hell of a crime boom right now. Robberies, kidnappings, smuggling, you name it. I've been so busy I can't even find time to do most of the requests."

"But don't you spend most of your time raising your kids?" Tukson asked.

Mason nodded. "I do."

"So why don't you take more time to do jobs then?"

"I've told you before Tuk. I'm a father first, criminal second." Mason finished his beer and set it on the ground. "Besides. With the jobs I do do, I have enough money to send the kids to whatever school they want to attend in the future, assuming they even want to attend in the first place."

"Mmm. Must be hard though, raising your kids around criminals." Tukson said.

"Heh. You'd be surprised. Ruby is the only one who gives me trouble since she is a baby, but Cinder loves it. Just the other day she pulled off her first successful pickpocket." Mason said with pride in his voice.

"I don't think that's something to be proud of." Tukson sweat dropped.

"Sure it is. Any accomplishment you do that required some conscious effort is something you can be proud of."

Tukson shook his head. "And the people? I would think they wouldn't take to kindly to having kids running around their illegal operations."

"Actually, most don't care. That's the thing with the criminal underworld. Nobody cares, so long as you do your job and don't screw with other criminals. Hell, aside from the declining Mistral slave market, the place is more tolerant towards faunus than just about anywhere."

"You're kidding." Tukson didn't believe him.

"Nope. The only thing being discriminatory does in the underworld is limit your clients. Less clients means less business. Less business means less money, and money is what the underworld is after."

Tukson was silent. He could hardly believe that a place inhabited entirely by criminals was more tolerant than what was considered the ' _civilized'_ world.

The two sat in silence again. Watching the moon slowly reflect off the ocean through the trees.

"Mason?"

"Mmm?"

"Why do you live out here?" Tukson gestured to the woods. "You live several miles from Vale in an area notoriously known for its Grimm population and to top it off you're raising kids out here. So why?"

Mason chuckled. "Heh. Cause its quiet out here."

Tukson raised an eyebrow.

Mason looked back to Tukson. "Ok fine. Because One: I'm a wanted criminal so the city would be a bad place for me to live, Two: I have lived in the wilds for as long as I can remember so it just feels natural to me, and Three: The kids will be stronger for it. At least Cinder will be. I'm still looking for Ruby's real father so it will depend on when I find him."

"You haven't found him yet?" Tukson asked.

"No. If the kingdoms kept DNA records instead of Aura frequencies I would be able to find him, but they don't so I'm forced to look for him the old fashion way. Now, granted, I'm not looking particularly hard since I've grown attached to the little monster, but something in my gut tells me her dad is out there alive somewhere. I just have to find him. Even if I still don't know if I'll give her back." Mason put his hands behind his head.

"You realize that this makes you a kidnapper, right?" Tukson said.

"Not really. I saved her from certain death and am raising her until I can find her real father. Besides I'm also a murderer, womanizer, thief, arsonist, assassin, and general menace to society." Mason listed the titles of on his fingers. "Why not add kidnapper to that list."

"If I didn't know you personally I'd call you a psycho for being so nonchalant about all those things." Tukson sighed.

"No, not a psycho, just severely desensitized to the horrors of life and a sufferer of probably the most severe case of PTSD anyone has ever seen." Mason said without any concern in his voice.

Tukson went to say voice his concern for Masons metal health but was cut off by a voice from inside the house.

"Hey Dad?" Cinder said from inside. "Can I have some ice cream?"

"Sure." Mason said back. "It's on the top shelf in the freezer. Just make sure to put it back when you're done."

"Yay!" Cinder shouted with glee. "Thank You!"

"Look Tuk. I understand what you're trying to say but I don't know if I even can give her back." Mason said.

"And why's that?"

Mason cocked an eyebrow. "Well for one I am one of Vale's most wanted so-"

"Wrong. Your alias _Phantom_ is. You could show up as a normal person and give her back." Tukson cut Mason off.

Mason scoffed. "Even if I could say that, how am I supposed to explain her dead mother. Which I might add after some digging I've found out was Summer _fucking_ Rose. There aren't even any records of her having a kid! How the hell am I going to explain that? 'Oh, hey Ruby's dad. Here's your and your dead wife's supposedly dead daughter after I've raised her for a year and a half.' Yeah, because that would go well."

"You don't know that Mason." Tukson countered.

"'You don't know that Mason.' Please, how would you react to some stranger coming up to you, two years after your supposed kid's death and said that?" Mason said mockingly. "Let's say I could do all that. Say I could give Ruby back without any problems. How would she feel. She sees me as her dad Tukson. How would you feel if your dad gave you away as a kid?"

"She's two Mason. She wouldn't remember."

"You're seriously underestimating peoples' memory." Mason scowled. "Then there is how I feel. I told you earlier, I see her as a daughter now. As a father, I can't just give my kid away like that in good conscious."

"Coming from the man who openly admits that he murders people and is mentally unstable." Tukson rolled his eyes.

Mason's grip around his bottle tightened. "I may be a criminal Tukson, but I have standards. I may be a monster but I'll be dammed to hell before someone touches my kids. Those kids, are one of the main reasons I haven't gone catatonic, haven't gone and offed myself, haven't gone and institutionalized myself. I need them Tuk, just as much as they need me. I'm their father and they're my therapy."

Tukson sighed dropping the topic, while Mason pounded back another beer.

As soon as he finished, Mason said something.

"You know…" Mason said. "I could always use a partner."

Tukson turned to him. "Where's this coming from."

"We need a new subject. Something not so depressing, so I'm asking you if you want to be my partner."

"But you already have one." Tukson said. "Cinder is your partner."

Mason shook his head. "No, she's not. She's still way to young before I can even think about taking her on a proper mission. Not to mention I haven't even begun to teach her how to properly protect herself."

"Then why tell me?"

Mason let out a light laugh. "Well I figured I'd ask you if you would be interested in it."

"You want me." Tukson pointed to himself. "To help you." He pointed to Mason. "become one of the most notorious criminals and assassins in Vale?" Tukson was baffled. "Even after I just called you insane two minutes ago and was telling you to give up your kid?"

"Well yeah. I mean I already am one of the most notorious, but you're a good friend and someone I can trust, so I figured it would be good to have each other watch each other's back." Mason said. "As for that bit about calling me a psycho and whatnot, that's all the more reason I could use you as a partner. You speak your mind and I respect you for it."

"Do you even know what you're asking me?!"

Mason sighed. "Look Tuk. I won't force you to join me but just know that my offer stands so long as we are friends. You're a smart guy, you can make your own decisions."

Tukson shook his head. "Hypothetically, if I did join you what would I even do? I mean you seem perfectly capable of doing everything on your own thus far."

"Well going by your reaction to my offer you won't be doing any kill- "

"Killing isn't the issue Mason." Tukson said. "I had to do enough of that back in the borderlands of Menagerie. The problem is becoming wanted by the Vale police department. I have no intention of spending my life behind bars in a prison cell."

"Oh. Well either way I'd be doing the killing since, frankly, I don't trust anyone else to actually complete those missions, but you would be primarily helping Neir filter requests, gathering information on clients, and running the books for the operations. Depending on the mission you might be used as some extra muscle or the getaway driver if needed."

"So you just want me as an assistant?" Tukson said.

"Basically." Mason waved his hand in acknowledgement.

"Why me?"

"Because I can trust you." Mason said. "As much as the underworld is built on trust, people are always looking to stab you in the back for their own personal gain."

"And what would I stand to get out of such a partnership?" Tukson asked.

"Well for starters you would obviously be getting a cut of the payment from any jobs, which would be enough to remove your reliance on the White Fangs payroll. I'd train you to fight properly myself so that you're capable of going on missions if need be. I'd give you a weapon, which I'd give you some training in so you can further protect yourself. And naturally you'd get to spend more time with your adoptive niece." Mason smirked at Tukson.

"Ha-ha" Tukson rolled his eyes.

"And finally you would be able to back out whenever you want and be guaranteed a clean record when you leave. Now that I think about it, it would also get those violent White Fang members to stop trying to recruit you." Mason finished. "And that's just from me. Not including all the other stuff, you can get in the underworld. Did you know they offer dental plans for criminals? I know I didn't."

"Riiiight… And how could you possibly guarantee that?" Tukson asked genuinely curious.

"Pfft." Mason huffed. "That's easy. Neir has access to the entirety of the CCTS. Removing information and inserting false data is child's play for him."

Tukson's jaw dropped. "He has access to everything?! How is that even possible!? And how hasn't he found anything on Ruby's father."

Mason waved his hand again. "Well not everything per say but anything hooked up to the CCTS he has access to. Anything on a private closed network he needs a direct terminal to get to. But like I said, there are no records of her being born."

"Dam dude. That's amazing! It sounds like you two make quite the team."

"We've been together for as long as I can remember." Mason smiled wistfully.

"Think I could meet him?" Tukson asked.

"I don't have a problem with it. I'd have to ask him. He's rather shy around people he doesn't know." Mason shrugged. "So, you interested in my offer or you going to stick to your guns and try to survive?"

Tukson sat quietly mulling it over. Mason had given him a lot to think about. Enough that it had shaken his initial out right refusal. And the idea of having a stable dental plan was very tempting…

"Alright fine…" Tukson said. "I'll bite. One mission to test the waters and that's it. If it's fine and everything you've said is true I'll join you but just like how you're a father first, I'm putting my life first."

"That's all I can ask for." Mason stood up and stretched. "Come on. We should go inside looks like the kids want a turn with their uncle." Tukson turned his head to look behind him. Sure enough there was Cinder and Ruby pressed against the glass door.

Tukson just shook his head. "I'm not their uncle!"

* * *

 **AN**

* * *

 **And there we have it Chapter 5 is done and posted. Sorry for that 2 week update delay but the first week of college tends to throw a wrench in a person's schedule.**

 **So Tukson is an unofficial uncle now. That's a thing but I'm glad I was able to flesh out Tukson's character a bit more. I feel like he had a lot more potential as a character than he was given credit for so I'm quite happy with how he's coming along.**

 **Also I'm probably going to reread all my previous chapters and fix up any continuity, and grammar issues so look out for that.**

 **Mason has a partner in crime and he's looking for Ruby's real dad. Will he ever be found? Will Mason be able to part with his beloved youngest daughter? You'll have to read to find out.**

 **Regular update services resume next Saturday!**

 **That's all. Hope everyone is enjoying everything so far!**

 **Have a good one everyone!**

 **-Zeak-**


	7. Ch 6: A Little Liquor Never Hurt

**Welcome back everyone to the newest chapter of Light Fire and Flowers.**

 **Don't have much to say here so let's get right into things.**

 **Reveiws:**

 **None that I can say anything about… :(**

* * *

Chapter 6: A Little Liquor Never Hurt

* * *

 _-Two years later: -_

 _~Cinder age: 9 Ruby age: 4 Mason age: Unknown, Estimated 31~_

A man dressed in strange armor calmly walked down the street. He wore a brown knights helm with a black visor. On his arms, he wore a set of black gloves and sleeves made with black Kevlar-like material. Brown iron shoulder pauldrons silently shifted as the man moved. A strange carved gold pate covered the upper chest of the man while the rest was left protected by more of the black Kevlar. Black, worn, leather boots made their way up to his mid-calf while the man wore a pair of black pants that were held up by a belt and gun holster. Strangely pieces of bone were strapped to the boots and sewn into the pant legs. Behind him, his tattered cloak flowed gently in the light breeze.

"Hey Neir, you got the time?" The man asked.

The ghost bobbed just above his shoulder. "Yeah time for you to get a-"

Mason swiped at the small drone as it bobbed out of the way. "Fine fine, it is 10:13 PM."

"Looks like we still have time before our meeting with the client." Mason said as he strolled down the street.

Street lamps lined the road as Mason walked, each casting a warm glow onto the sidewalk and buildings nearby. Instead of the normal stores that could be found in the residential and commercial districts of Vale, the Industrial districts was chock full of warehouses and several factories. A bar could be found on nearly every street, and the district housed more criminals than the Vale Police Department cared to admit. Mason was here often enough that he had come to calling it his home away from home.

Mason continued his way down the street making small talk with his ghost until he came up to the door of a pub. The sign above the door read The Last Lilly Pub. Nodding to himself Mason opened the door and strode in.

"GUESS WHOSE BACK BOYS!" Mason shouted as the door closed.

A resounding cheer filled the bar as the patrons held up their drinks in recognition.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in." A massive, red haired, hulk of a man said from behind the bar top.

"You're best paying customer is what it dragged in." Mason made a set of finger guns and pretended to shoot the bartender. "DRINKS ON ME TONIGHT FELLAS!" Another resounding cheer filled the bar as patrons raised their glasses.

"Y'aint wrong about that." The bartender smiled through his beard and extended a hand. "How've you been Phantom."

"Not bad Lilly, not bad at all." Mason took off his helmet, a slight hiss of released pressure being heard. "Business is booming. I actually am meeting up with a client here in a bit."

"Hoh?" Lilly raised a bushy eyebrow "Bet'r not start trouble. Don't need 'nother incident like last time. It's on yer tab if they cause any damage to my bar."

"Yeah, yeah." Mason waved off the red-haired giant. "That's what we agreed on after that meeting went south. I'll pay you back for any damages plus your 'interest'."

"Good. Now you gonna have a drink or you gonna let everyone else drink away your paycheck?" Lilly said wiping his hands on his stained apron.

"Gimme the usual." Mason nodded toward the menu. "Chilled bottle of Capitol Hill."

Lilly grabbed a bottle from one of the many ice boxes and placed it on the counter, prying the cap off with his hands before handing it to Mason.

Mason raised his bottle. "To the small things."

Lilly laughed. "Th' small things indeed."

Mason downed his drink and set it back on counter.

"Ahhhh… it's been too long since I had one of those." Mason said. "I can't for the life of me find these anywhere else."

Lilly took the bottle and looked at it. "Pro'lly cause you're the only one who drinks this crap. Atlassian's can't brew a good beer to save their frozen skins. Should stick to vodka 's what I say."

"EH!" Mason feigned offence. "I will not hear anyone trash talk my favorite beer. Take that back or I'll get the entire bar singing. You remember the last time that happened." Mason smirked.

Lilly crossed his arms and laughed before looking Mason directly in the eyes. "Yeah. Nothing other than a bunch of drunk bastards singing out of tune and embarrassing themselves."

Mason returned Lilly's gaze. "Oh. That sounds like a challenge." Mason smirked. "I'll bet a case of Capitol Hill, that I can get everyone here minus you singing together."

"I'll take that bet." Lilly said, resting his arm on the counter top with a confident smirk. "What do I get if I win?"

"I'll do you a favor. I'll do a job for you on the house. No questions asked, no payment required." Mason said.

"That seems awfully weighed in my favor. You're pretty confident yer gonna win."

"As if I'd let myself lose this." Mason scoffed. "So, we have a bet?"

"You're on Hunter." Lilly put out his hand.

"Finally, someone gets it right!" Mason shook the burly barkeeps hand.

Mason got off his bar stool and made his way to the center of the center of the bar.

"OI FELLAS!" Mason shouted. Silence overtook the bar as everyone turned to face the hunter.

"O'll LILLY HERE SAYS HE DOESN'T LIKE OUR BAR TUNES!" Mason threw a finger to point accusingly at the bartender. "SAY'S HE'LL KICK US OUT IF WE DO IT AGAIN."

Muted grumbles could be heard throughout the bar.

"Oi! I never said-"

"YOU KNOW WHAT I THINK?" Mason smirked. "I THINK HE DOESN'T APPRECIATE GOOD MUSIC WHEN HE HEARS IT!"

More grumbling could be heard.

"HOW ABOUT WE SHOW HIM A REAL SONG? ONE SO HE MIGHT APPRECIATE US AND OUR PATRONAGE!"

Nods of agreement and shouts of indignation greeted Mason in return.

"SOME ONE GET THAT PIANO PLAYING CAUSE IT'S THE END OF THE NIGHT AND WE AIN'T GOING HOME TILL LILLY LEARNS A LITTLE APPRECIATION!"

One of the patrons made his way over to the old worn piano that sat against the far wall and began to play.

"ALRIGHT BOY'S YOU KNOW THE WORDS! LET'S GO!" Mason threw his fist in the air.

(AN: For those who would like to listen to the song while reading, Look up _End of the night_ By the Dropkick Murphys, some words have been changed to better fit the environment.)

After a few bars of notes the Mason started to sing. "Oh The amber, the fire is starting to fade, but it's now that I'm at my best. Give the angel on my shoulder a break for the night, 'cause the devil ain't getting no rest. I've got thousands of stories, you've heard them before, yet I tell them again and again. Come on pull up a stool now and buy me a drink and please think of me as a friend."

A Patron at a nearby table stood and sang back to mason in a deep voice. "We live for the weekend, each city's the same, There's a bar on the corner where they all know our names. There's plenty of drinkin', they've been savin' our chairs. It's our second home, we ain't goin' nowheres!"

Soon the rest of the bar joined in for the chorus. "It's the end, end of the night. But we aaain't goin' home. It's the end, end of the night. But we aaain't goin' home. It's the end, end of the night. But we aaaaain't… Goin' hooooome.

The bar quieted as Mason and the other gentleman who had sung earlier continued on with the song.

"This life it ain't easy, still we manage to win." Mason sang.

"There's times to be knocked down, yeah we live with our chin." The other patron returned.

Together they put their arms over their shoulders and chorused together. "We're generous guys with our hearts on our sleeves, misunderstood though the boss disagrees. We can't catch a break, wrote the book on bad luck. WE'D HOLD DOWN A JOB IF THEY DIDN'T ALL SUCK!"

The bar fell back into the chorus and everyone swayed to the song. "It's the end, end of the night. But we aaaain't goin' home. It's the end, end of the night. But we aaaaain't goin' home. It's the end, end of the night. But we aaaaaaain't goin'… hoooome."

Mason broke away from his singing partner and made his way on top of the counter to continue the song once more. "The bartender's spoken and he's made it clear. If you ain't goin' home, then you ain't stayin' here. You can't shut us off and you won't turn us down. There's plenty of jugs so be grateful to have us around!"

The Patrons continued the chorus again, starting quiet before building up to a roar. "It's the end, end of the night. But we ain't goin' home. It's the end, end of the night. But we ain't goin' home.  
IT'S THE END, END OF THE NIGHT! BUT WE AAAAAIIIIIIN'T GOIN' HOOOMMMEEEE!"

Mason immediately went into the next verse. "Well you've been beaten me black and you've beaten me blue, the scars are well worn on my face."

Mason's partner picked up next. "I've packed up the bags and I've sulked off in shame, For one last walk at these streets!"

The bar fell into chorus for the last time, everyone belting out the lyrics like their lives depended on it. "It's the end, end of the night. But we ain't goin' home. It's the end, end of the night. But we ain't goin' home. It's the end, end of the night. But we ain't goin' home… We ain't goin' hooooooome….. We ain't goin' hooooooome….. We ain't goin' hooooooome."

The bar was filled with raucous cheers as everyone raised their drinks. Some continued to sing while others laughed along. Mason got down off of the counter and sat down. "I do believe that you owe me a case of Capitol Hill my good man."

"Gurarararara." Lilly let out a boisterous laugh. "A' should'a known I'd lose. That song might as well be these boy's anthem."

"Come on pay up." Mason smirked.

Lilly laughed again. "Don't worry. You'll git yer beer. I restock tomorrow. Stop by and you can take yer case. I'll throw in an extra if you help bring everything in from the truck."

Mason smiled. "We'll see."

"So whose this client of yours?" Lilly rested an arm on the bar top. "I know 'im?"

"No idea. It was an anonymous request. I won't know for sure until they ask you they are looking for Phantom."

Lilly nodded. "So the usual then."

"Yep. It's probably going to be some down on his luck crime boss who needs his next job to go well or he's done for." Mason said dismissively.

Mason and Lilly continued to make small talk, talking about the current state of the underworld, the oncoming crackdown on criminal activity that comes with the new school year, and how one Roman Torchwick recently stole a heavily guarded Schnee dust convoy. As an information broker, Lilly provided Mason with the latest news on the happenings of the underworld, for a fee of course. Nothing is ever free after all.

Time past and the bar became less and less populated as people retired for the night. Soon it was just Mason and Lilly alone in the bar.

Lilly let out a dry chuckle. "Looks to me like you've been stood up."

"Nah, it's what? 11:30? They should be here any moment." Mason said.

"Whatever you say Phantom." Lilly said, grabbing a broom, before going to clean the floor of the bar.

Five minutes later the door to the bar opened and in strode a man. He had Raven black hair, red eyes, and unkempt stubble on his chin. The man had a deshelved appearance but somehow still managed to look professional. On his back was a tattered red cloak and a sword was strapped to his back.

"Well looky here. My second best paying customer." Lilly said.

"Second best paying customer?" the man said tossing a flask to Lilly. "Didn't realize I lost my title."

"Snarky as ever eh' Qrow?" Lilly laughed as he made his way back behind the bar.

Mason tensed at the name.

"No idea what you're talking about." Qrow said.

"The usual?" Lilly said.

"No just fill the flask. I'm here on business and as much as I wish I could drain your stock tonight it'll have to wait." Qrow said, sitting down on one of the bar stools. "I'm here to see the Phantom."

Mason nearly broke the glass in his hand when he heard his code name.

"Hoh?" Lilly looked surprised. "And what's a huntsman like you doin' meetin' with the Phantom."

"That's not your problem." Qrow said. "I'm supposed to be meeting him here."

"And what's the drunken huntsman want with me." Mason squinted at Qrow, distrust showing on his face.

Qrow turned to face mason. Electric blue eyes meeting blood red ones. The two stared at each other for a moment sizing the other up.

"Information." Qrow finally said.

"Information?" Mason raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You're sitting in front of the second-best information broker in Vale, so excuse me for not believing you."

"I know who I'm sitting in front of. I also know who you are Phantom." Qrow took his flask back from Lilly. "Master thief, assassin extraordinaire, and the only person to have successfully broken INTO and Atlassian prison, kill a target, and get out undetected."

"And how would you know that?" Mason glared hand slowly moving for the knife strapped to his belt.

"Your employer for that mission was not as tight lipped as you thought. Bragged about being able to hire you specifically." Qrow took a swig from the flask. "Naturally only your code name was leaked. No one knows anything about you which made trying to find you a real pain in my ass."

"So why are you looking for me. Going to arrest me? 'Cause I can tell you right now, I will resist and someone's going to get hurt."

Qrow shook his head. "Like I said before, Information. I have no interest in arresting you right now. I've been looking for answers for years I can't find anything. None of the legal methods have worked and none of the illegal ones helped either."

Mason removed his hand from his knife. "So why me."

"Through my years of searching, your name was mentioned several times. That if someone wanted a specific piece of info on anything and they could pay for it then you'd be able to get it for them. You're my last chance at getting what I want." Qrow finished the flask and handed it back to Lilly.

"Then what do you want?" Mason asked cautiously. "Assuming you can pay that is."

"Summer Rose." Qrow said. "I want to know what happened. There are no records of her death, no failed mission reports, not even her husband knows what happened. She's just listed as MIA in the Huntsman registry. A huntress of her level doesn't just disappear without a trace. Something happened and I want to know what it is."

Masons grip shattered the glass in his hand. "Should have figured one of you would come knocking sooner or later."

Qrow's expression hardened. "What do you mean by that…?"

"You said you knew Summer's husband?" Mason said dodging the question while picking the glass out of his glove.

"Yes. My teammate Taiyang was her husband." Qrow said.

"Fucking..." Mason sighed. "Meet me in two days at noon here outside. Bring Taiyang. If you can get Raven then good for you but seeing as she's back with your 'tribe' I doubt you will."

"How'd you-" Qrow started to say.

"I'm one of the best Qrow. Something like that wasn't hard to find out." Mason waved him off. "Can you do that?"

Qrow stared at Mason for a long time before nodding. "I can. How much is this going to cost me?"

"My bar tab." Mason nodded towards Lilly as he stood up and walked towards the door. "Consider it a major discount on something that would normally cost you an arm and a leg."

Mason walked out of the bar just as Qrow nearly passed out from looking at the bill.

Outside Mason walked down the street.

"Mason." Neir appeared over the hunter's shoulder.

 **-Warning Potentially M rated scene for strong language-**

Mason round housed a lamppost, bending it to have an awkward angle.

"SON OF A FUCKING-! I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN IT WAS ONE OF THEM!" Mason shouted.

"Mason calm down." Neir said. "If you-"

"ALL THOSE FUCKING YEARS SEARCHING AND IT'S THE PEOPLE I CAN'T FUCKING APROACH!"

Mason punched the wall of a building, his eye's glowing an unearthly orange.

"WHAT THE FUCKING HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!" Mason yelled as he cut down another light post with his knife. "SHE'S MY FUCKING KID NOW DAMMIT"

"Mason if you don't reign in your-"

"I CAN'T JUST GIVE HER TO THEM!" Mason's fists started to flicker with fire as he continued to punch the building. "BUT I FUCKING CAN'T NOT TELL THEM ABOUT HER! FUCKING BLOODY MORALS!"

"MASON!" Neir shouted.

"WHAT DAMMIT!"

"Calm down or you'll lose control again." Neir said now that he had Mason's attention.

Mason looked at the blackened fist prints in the concrete, breathing heavily.

"You're a natural born Gunslinger Mason. You know how that affects your light. Your Sol light is much more volatile than others since you can't use Arc or Void." Neir said sounding concerned. "You remember the last time you lost control? You put a hole clean through the WALL Mason. Imagine what would happen if you lost control here."

Mason remained silent, still heaving in breaths while his flaming hands flickered dangerously.

"Mason, I need you to calm down." Neir said more forcefully. "Now."

Mason stared at his ghost until he closed his eyes, let out a long sigh and extinguished his hands.

"Fine." Mason said through gritted teeth. "Let's head home."

Mason turned around to walk away before stopping and heading back the the bar. "Forgot my fucking helmet."

 **-End M Rated Scene-**

- _Two Days Latter outside The Last Lilly Pub-_

"Qrow?" A blond-haired man said. "What was so urgent that I had to come to Vale? And why are you being so cryptic? Your being Ozpin levels of cryptic right now."

Qrow took a swig from his flask before answering. "Not sure Tai. Just that the Phantom said to bring you if I wanted answers."

"See! This is what I'm talking about! Who's this Phantom guy and what are you looking for answers for? Taiyang said exasperatedly. "Wait. Is this about Summer?"

Qrow didn't answer.

"Qrow… We've been over this." Taiyang sighed. "It's not your fault she went missing. It's time to move-"

"Qrow Branwen. Taiyang Xiao Long." A voice said from behind Taiyang.

Both men turned to face a tall, well-built, man with electric blue eyes and salt-n-pepper hair. He was wearing a black t-shit, a pair of blue jeans, hiking boots, and a pistol holster around his right leg.

Taiyang glared at the man. "And who are you?"

"I take it you hevent told him then and he doesn't interact with criminals very often" the man said looking at Qrow.

Taiyang tensed up. "Criminal?"

Qrow nodded.

Qrow sighed. "Taiyang relax. This is Phantom. The man who said to bring you here."

The Mason nodded. "Speaking of. Are you ready?"

Qrow nodded and stood up from where he was leaning against the building.

"Ready for what?" Taiyang asked.

"Follow me and you'll find out." Mason said as he turned to walk down the street towards the bullhead landing pads.

Tai looked to Qrow for answers but he just shrugged and followed Mason.

Ten minutes of walking later they reached the landing pads.

Mason turned to face the huntsmen and held out two blindfolds. "Put them on. Don't need you knowing which ship is mine."

Qrow put his on but Tai didn't.

"Oh no you don't." Taiyang said. "I am not putting this on until I get-"

He was abruptly cut off by a punch to the side of the head and the world went dark.

Tai woke up to a gut churning feeling. Opening his eyes, he rolled over and emptied the contents of his stomach onto the ground.

"Oh god. What the hell was that." Taiyang said.

"What was what?" Qrow said still blindfolded.

"I'm surprised Qrow. Most people show at least signs of motion sickness when they are first transmated." Mason said as he tapped Taiyang with his foot. "Like your friend here."

"Trans-what?" Qrow said.

"Nevermind. Take the blindfold off."

Qrow did as he was told and took the blindfold off. Blinking a few times as his eyes readjusted to the light while Taiyang groggily stood up.

They were in a clearing standing on a concrete pad that was off to the side of a small home.

"Where are we Phantom?" He looked around suspiciously.

"Home." Mason said walking towards his house.

"You live here?" Qrow said.

"Yes."

"Okaaaay." Taiyang said. "I would ask where here is I have a feeling you're not going to tell us."

"Very observant of you." Mason said as he continued to walk. "You're surprisingly calm Taiyang, considering how you reacted initially to getting on my bullhead."

Taiyang went to say something but Qrow cut him off. "Why are we here Phantom?" Qrow said. "You said you'd give me information not take us on a camping trip."

Mason stopped and let out a bitter chuckle.

"I'll do you one better." He said. "I'll give you answers. Follow me."

The three men walked around the house and walked to the end of the clearing. They came to a tree with a metal pole sticking out of the ground in front of it. Tied to the pole was a small strip of dirty white cloth. A round stone rested in front of the pole.

"What's this?" Taiyang asked.

Mason turned around and looked at the huntsmen, before slowly walking away. As he walked he put his hand on Qrow's shoulder just as the huntsman was taking a drink. "Take all the time that you need. I have to go grab something."

Qrow immediately froze. "You mean-" but Mason was already gone.

"Take all the time that-QROW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"

* * *

 **AN**

* * *

 **And that's the chapter. Bit less fluffy than I like but when you write the story tends to write itself. I am sorry for that bit of a cliff hanger at the end but I still need to work out how the next half is going to go. I can't seem to get the flow right.**

 **Anyway, for those who are curious about the whole natural born guardian thing let me explain.**

 **The idea originally comes from AceArcalas's Destiny Stories** **Tormented** **and** **Redacted** **(Which I highly recommend reading BTW) and is being used with their permission.**

 **Basically, what it means to be a natural born is that the guardian in question is only capable of using one subclass. Example: In Mason's case he is a natural born Gunslinger so he is unable to use both the Nightstalker and Arcstrider/Arcblade subclasses. To offset this major imbalance natural born guardians can do absolutely crazy shit with their natural subclass. So duel wielding golden guns or having a golden gun sniper is well with in a natural born gunslingers abilities. This is how Mason can 'summon' and control small embers of flames like when he entertains Cinder.**

 **So yeah for those who were curious that's what a natural born guardian is. Now I also revealed the rest of Mason's outfit this chapter so here is that for those curious souls.**

 **Helmet- Iron Companion Mask**

 **Arms- Iron Companion sleeves**

 **Chest- Exultation Vest**

 **Legs- Bones of Eao (exotic 1/4)**

 **Cloak- Cloak of Taniks**

 **Artifact- Memory of Gheleon**

 **Primary Weapon- Lord High Fixer (Hand Cannon Destiny 1)**

 **Ghost- Chocolate shell**

 **Ship- Fatal Vision**

 **So there is his full combat armor loadout. Weapons will be revealed in later chapters.**

 **Some might have noticed the (exotic 1/4) I put nest to his leg armor. Mason has 4 exotics, the rest will be revealed later on. Same rules apply as in game and he will only ever have one weapon and one armor piece equipped at one time. None of these are the 'broken exotics' (Pre-nerf Thorn and G-horn I'm looking at you) so I can keep things interesting so feel free to guess what they are.**

 **Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far, and remember to leave a review!**

 **Have a good one everyone!**

 **-Zeak-**


	8. Ch 7: Revelations

**Right so… first off, I wholeheartedly apologize for last chapter's cliffhanger. I absolutely hate them but unfortunately, I needed to end the chapter early so I could better plan out what happens this chapter. And while I most certainly enjoy seeing conflicting interests in this story a choice must be made.**

 **And so here we are.**

 **Reveiws:**

 **Artyom-Dreizehn: Yeah, I'm still not quite what sure what most people consider an M-rating so just trying to play it safe.**

 **Kamencolin: Right now? No. In the future? Possibly. If I do I'll put up a poll on my profile for a pairing if people want one.**

 **Dekuton: I know. I know. I'm terribly sorry for my sins. *hangs head in shame***

 **Chromaticolor: Guess you'll just have to read and find out.**

 **Ecoolasice: Here is moar!**

 **KnightsKing: Glad you are liking it so far!**

 **Dazac: Yeah, I can understand that but that is also why I chose a hunter rather than a warlock or titan for this story. They are more… individualistic I think would be the right term. They spend a lot of time in the wilds doing what they want so I figured that some of them would have a rough time fitting in with normal society. Also, not all guardians stay good. Dredgen Yor being a prime example. Mason is just a Hunter Guardian doing what he wants. I'll get into why he's doing what he is at a later point in the story.**

 **Let's get this show on the road.**

* * *

Chapter 7: Revelations

* * *

...

"Take all the time that-QROW WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Taiyang shouted.

Qrow stood stock still, staring at the minimalist marker.

Qrow's mouth moved but no words came out. He didn't know what to say. What could he say. After years of searching someone just takes him to his teammates grave like it's nothing.

"QROW!" Taiyang shouted again shaking Qrow from his thoughts. "What the hell is going on dammit?"

"Tai… you know that I've been trying to figure out what happened to Summer. Well here's the answer." Qrow downed the rest of his flask. "I am not nearly drunk enough for this shit right now…"

"What do you mean 'here's the answer'? It's just a pole in the ground… with a piece of cloth tied to the top." Taiyang said confused. "What am I missing here?"

"Yang really does get her thick-headedness from you doesn't she." Qrow let out a dry chuckle. "It's a grave. Summer's grave to be more specific."

Taiyang fell silent, staring at the pole with a more resigned look. "How do you-"

"CINDER! WHAT DID I TELL YOU ABOUT PRACTICING YOUR SEMBLANCE IN THE HOUSE!"

The two huntsmen jumped at the sudden shout that came from the nearby house.

"Hmh." Qrow huffed. "Guess he's got a kid. Who would've thought. Anyway, you were saying?"

"I was asking how you know it's her grave." Taiyang said.

"Technically I don't." Qrow said. "But I have a feeling he isn't lying. You don't just take two huntsmen like you and I to your house when you're a criminal."

Tai frowned. "That's another thing. If he's a criminal then how do we know he isn't the one who killed her? Assuming this is even her grave?"

"Frankly. We don't and I don't plan on leaving until I know." Qrow said.

"I wouldn't expect you too." Mason said suddenly from behind the two men.

Tai spun around and nearly punched the hunter in surprise. "Sweet Oum! Don't sneak up on us like that."

"It's my job to be sneaky. I can't exactly turn it off." Mason shrugged. "And no, I was not the one to kill your wife. She died three years, five months, and eighteen days ago of natural causes. Well as natural as being mauled to death by what was probably the largest gathering of grimm outside of the badlands."

"How would you know the absolute date if you didn't kill her?" Tai said glaring at the hunter with mounting suspicion.

Mason was quiet, unable to meet the blond huntsman's gaze.

"So you did ki-"

"I did NOT kill her." Mason growled at Qrow. "She died before I started accepting assassination contracts. Even if I was accepting contracts then, you know my policies if you contacted me. I don't kill huntsman unless I have too."

"I know the exact date because I watched her die, I watched her fall over in the snow, I saw her mangled corpse. Prior to her, I hadn't seen a corpse so torn up in years! It was a day that, frankly, started some of the happiest years of my life." Mason seethed.

"My wife fucking died and it made you happy?!" Tai growled blue eyes flashing a dangerous red color.

Mason growled back at the huntsman. "You better calm down so I can finish explaining. I am hardly telling you all this because I want to. I'm doing this because I owe it to her as a father."

"What are you talking about?" Qrow quirked an eyebrow.

"Follow me. There's someone you need to meet." Mason ground out before turning around and marched towards his house.

The two veteran huntsman looked at each other before following Mason towards his house.

The trio of men reached the front door before Mason paused. "Remember to duck."

"Wha-" Tai started to say but Mason had already opened the door and dodged to the side.

Three knives flew through the doorway at the huntsman. Reacting quickly, Qrow drew his sword and deflected them into the ground.

"Not bad." Mason nodded before walking into his house. "Cinder. I told you we had guests. Mind telling me why you thought it was a smart idea to try and kill them?"

Cinder came out from the other side of a chair tossing another blade around in her hand.

"Well when you said real huntsmen were coming over I wanted to see if they were the real deal." She said sheepishly.

"So you thought it was a good idea to throw knives at them?"

"Yes."

Mason was silent for a moment before laughing and rubbing Cinder's head. "That's my girl. But your form was off. Remember its index and thumb holding the blade while the middle finger guides the knife."

"Okay." Cinder smiled and peaked around the hunter. "So these the huntsmen?"

"Yep." Mason turned around and looked at the two shocked men standing outside his door. "You know you can come in right? We don't bite."

Qrow was the first to regain his composure. "But you have no issues throwing knives at us."

"Eh semantics." Mason shrugged. "Make your selves at home. We have A LOT to talk about."

Mason and Cinder walked into the kitchen to get some food while the others stepped into the living room.

The room was cozy. A coffee table surrounded by a couch and chairs facing a fireplace took up most of the room. Wooden lamps rested on two side tables giving the room a warm glow. A window showed the outside porch and front yard. On top of the fireplaces mantel several candles and a showcase holding a long, worn, wooden rifle with Iron Sights.

"Huh kinda reminds me of home." Taiyang said.

"Yeah but his cabinets aren't twelve feet off of the ground." Qrow said as he looked around the room.

"Oh come on! Are you still going on about that!? It was an honest mistake!"

"Nevermind." Qrow sighed as he sat down on the couch. "Did you see how Phantom's attitude completely changed when we came inside?"

Taiyang sat down in one of the chairs. "Yeah, like he seemed a lot more happy and carefree? I think."

Qrow nodded. "Probably has to do with the kid. She's most likely his daughter. He likely gets all happy and nice around his kid but it is all business when she isn't around. Kinda reminds me how you get with Yang. Outside your normal but once Yang comes around you get all protective."

"I do not." Tai denied."

"Yes you do."

Tai huffed "Whatever."

The two sat in silence for a moment before Cinder wandered in with water for them.

"So you guys are huntsmen?" Cinder asked, placing the water on the coffee table.

"Yup!" Tai smiled. "Some of the best! You want to be a huntress when you grow up?"

Cinder pouted. "I am all grown up. I'm nine years old!"

"No you're not!" Mason shouted from the kitchen.

"Shut up dad!" Cinder shouted back.

"Oh yeah, he's just like you." Qrow muttered to Tai.

"So what do you guys do? Dad says guys like you fight crime and kill grimm." Cinder looked at the huntsmen.

"And look cool doing it!" Tai said.

Qrow pinched the brow of his nose. "Tai…"

"So you're basically glorified police?" Cinder took a knife that was resting on a table nearby and began to fidget with it. "Sounds boring."

Tai's face faulted from being shut down. "And why does it sound boring?"

"Cause you guys only get to fight thugs and kill grimm. My dad does all sorts of stuff since he's not bound by stupid laws." Cinder shrugged tossing the knife at a dart board that hung on the far wall.

A knife flew out of the kitchen knocking Cinder's knife out of the air. "Oh come on dad! I was gonna get a bullseye that time!"

"No you weren't." Mason said from the kitchen. "You were going to hit the lamp nest to the target."

"And how would you know?" Cinder huffed.

"I'm just that good." Mason snarked back.

Cinder rolled her eyes. "You always say that."

"~Cause it's true~!" Mason smugly sang from the kitchen.

Tai and Qrow just watched the exchange with wide eyes. Neither felt entirely comfortable with how casually the father and daughter duo were casually just throwing knives around their house.

Tai leaned over to Qrow and whispered into his ear. "I don't think I've been nearly as bad an influence on Yang as this guy has been to his-" A knife found itself imbedded in the couch right next to the blond huntsman's neck.

"Finish that sentence. I dare you!" Mason growled from the kitchen.

"R-r-right." Tai stuttered quickly turning his attention back to Cinder. "So what sort of things does your dad do?" Tai said trying to keep calm after nearly having a knife spear his throat.

"Depends. He's guarded a few illegal shipments of dust, was hired to kill a few crime lords, collected some bounties on rouge huntsmen, robbed a few dust shops, broke in and stole information from several places, killed a crap ton of grimm." Cinder shrugged. "I could go on but then we'd be getting into some more sensitive stuff."

"Your dad is a busy man." Qrow lightly whistled.

"Not really. He spends most of his time here teaching me and my sister." Cinder said.

"You have a sister?" Tai asked.

"Yep. She's taking a nap right now though." Cinder smiled. "Hey dad!"

"Yeah?"

"They pass!"

"Oh good." Mason said walking out of the kitchen

"We pass?" Tai asked. "What did we pass?"

"My lovely daughter was analyzing you. She needs practice covertly analyzing people." Mason said before turning to his daughter. "Well what did you find?"

"Blondie is unarmed but has the muscle tone suggesting he's a brawler, his left leg is crooked slightly suggesting an old injury that never completely healed right and has a beetle crawling through his hair." Cinder pointed towards Tiayang who immediately began freaking out about having a bug run around his hair.

Shifting her finger towards Qrow. "Beer breath-"

"It's whisky." Qrow piped up.

"Same difference. He's obviously got that big sword on his back. Seeing he's a huntsman it likely shifts to another form. He's intoxicated but not to the point that it will affect his fighting abilities and has a slight lean to the left to compensate for the weight of the sword on his back." Cinder smiled. "I miss anything?"

"Just one." Mason said pointing at Qrow. "He has a knife hidden in the heel of his boot. But aside from that good job."

"So what did we pass? You never explained that." Tai asked having calmed down once the beetle was out of his hair.

"You passed judgment. You've been deemed not a threat so you are allowed to stay inside the house." Mason said sitting down.

"I didn't realize that was an interrogation." Qrow said leaning his head back.

"Eh it's not important now. Cinder can you leave us for a bit I need to speak with our new friends." Cinder nodded and left the room. Mason's tone turned deathly serious. "Now. We need to talk."

Both Qrow and Taiyang dropped their previously laxed attitude and sat a full attention.

"No kidding." Qrow crossed his legs. "So how do we know that it wasn't you that killed Summer? Frankly, what you said outside is a bit unbelievable. It would have taken a more than a few grimm to kill her."

"Oh it was more than just a few." Mason let out a dark chuckle. "At least three death stalkers, four separate packs of beowulves, alphas included, a minimum of ten ursai, and there were enough feathers littering the ground to suggest there was at least a flock of nevermore. Might have been a nuckelavee watching at some point too."

"Bullshit." Qrow spat. "There hasn't been a nuckelavee spotted in years. They don't come this close to Vale."

"Qrow." Taiyang said. "Your forgetting we don't know where we are. For all we know we could be in the middle of the badlands."

"We're not." Qrow said. "I would know."

Mason chuckled again. "He's right. We're nowhere near the badlands. But if you don't believe me that I didn't kill Summer then look at this."

Mason tossed a plain white scroll over to Qrow. On its screen was a play button.

"What's this?" Tai asked looking over to the scroll.

"Summers last moment's. I was out hunting and I ran into her." Mason said.

"Why would you record it?" Tai asked.

"I record everything that happens outside the house as a safety precaution. I have cameras all around outside. My armor also has a built-in camera that records what I see in case something ever happens on a mission." Mason said. The second part was a blatant lie though. He had no reason to tell the two huntsmen about Neir and how he records everything for his databanks.

Qrow looked down at the scroll for a moment before hitting play. The video loaded and began to play.

…

"Cinder. Stay here. You can watch but I don't want you getting hurt." The video said.

The screen showed someone running forward before coming to a stop.

"Oh, there sure are a lot of you this time. Well come on! Let's dance!" Mason could hear his voice from the video.

A few moments of silence followed before a loud "HEY! DON'T IGNORE ME!" could be heard.

More sounds of running came from the scroll before they ceased. The camera panned around revealing the dissipating corpses of fallen grimm. Dozens of Beowulf corpses littered the ground. Here and there several Ursa lay slowly dissolving into smoke. Towards the edge of the clearing sat the tails of three Deathstalkers, the rest of their body's having dissolved. Long feathers peppered the clearing, the only sign that Nevermores had joined the fight.

The camera kept panning around until it came to rest on a lone figure standing in the center of the carnage, torn white cloak lightly ruffling in the wind of the snow storm

"Hooooo boy. I haven't seen this many corpses since we tried to-" a sudden gust of wind distorted the end of the sentence.

The figure in the camera turned around slightly just reveling the side of its face _._

"I take it this was your doing?" the cameraman asked.

The woman said nothing. A gust of wind blew by ruffling both figures cloaks, revealing the woman's blood-stained clothing and missing arm. The woman seemed to let out a sigh before turning away. She extended something, a weapon by the looks of it, and used it as a walking stick before slowly walking off.

"Hey!" the camera ran towards the figure. "You're hurt! Stop and let me-"

A hand went to reach out but the figure collapsed not five steps from where it had been standing. The camera ran to the fallen figure and rolled it over.

"Holy…" The cameraman muttered almost silently _._

The camera revealed a woman who had been wearing a red and black combat skirt. The Camera panned up and down the woman's body examining the various wounds.

"-would be able to stand after something like this…" another gust of wind obscured the first part of the cameraman's sentence.

…

Qrow ended the video so Tai could gather himself and stop dry heaving.

"Believe me now?" Mason asked.

The two huntsman sat in silence. They had both just watched one of their teammates die. After several years they finally had confirmation about what had happened to her.

Qrow let out a tired sigh. "Well… fuck. That hurts."

"Yeah no kidding." Tai grumbled. "And to think I had just given up. It's nice to get some closure. Now if we could just find her daughter."

Mason looked down. "Funny you should mention that…" He whispered.

"What'd you say?" Qrow said looking up from the scroll.

Mason let out a large breath. "I'm going to hate myself for this I just know it…" He paused. "Cinder!"

"Yeah dad?" Cinder peaked her head around the door to the hallway.

"Go grab your sister." Mason said, barely able to say the words.

"Okay?" Cinder said confused but went to grab her sleeping sister.

"You have two kids?" Qrow raised an eyebrow.

"Heh." Mason laughed dejectedly. "What? Didn't think a criminal was capable of having a family?"

"Frankly? Yes." Qrow said. "Not many women want to have kids with a criminal."

Mason let out another sad laugh. "Guess it's a good thing they both are adopted then."

"You adopted kids?" Tai asked. "Why?"

"Mr. Xiao Long, loneliness is a powerful emotion that drives people to do strange things." Mason said leaning his head back to stare at the ceiling.

"So where did you get them?" Qrow asked taking another flask from… somewhere? Mason couldn't tell.

"I found Cinder on the streets. I was out shopping for groceries when I found her being chased by a mob for burning down a bakery." Mason let out a halfhearted chuckle. "Hard to believe she used to be this thin little twig scared of her own semblance. Looking at her now you'd have never thought she grew up in alleyways and dumpsters."

"That's terrible!" Tai said.

"Life is terrible." Mason said. "But at the same time it's the best thing to ever happen to anyone."

"So what about the other?" Qrow asked. "You haven't said anything about that one yet."

Mason let out a sad, dry chuckle.

"You do that a lot." Tai said. "Why do you laugh like that?"

"Cause sometimes it's all you can do." Mason said. "The other one is… well she's four years old and a complete cookie monster. She has the prettiest eyes and hair that refuses to cooperate. She has red tipped hair just like her mother did."

"I thought you said she was adopted?" Taiyang said.

"She is." Mason said sitting up.

"DAAAAAAD! SHE'S NOT GETTING OUT OF BED!" Cinder shouted from down the hall.

"And unfortunately, she has my sleep schedule. She's a handful but she's my handful." Mason stood up and walked down the hall to grab his daughters.

A moment later Mason returned with Cinder in tow and a small sleeping girl in his arms.

She wore a little black t-shirt and a pair of white fuzzy pajama pants. Long black hair with red tips hung in a mess around her face as she gently snored in Mason's arms.

"This is my second adopted daughter. Ruby Fall." Mason said sitting down, his hair shadowing his eyes. "You might know her as Ruby Rose, daughter of Summer Rose and now that I know, Taiyang Xiao Long."

…

…

…

"WHAAAATTTT!?" The two huntsmen practically jumped from their seats.

Mason sat there with his head down while the two people in front of him freaked out.

"Ohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygodohmygod." Taiyang muttered to himself as he paced back and forth.

Qrow after his initial outburst had sat back down and was just staring at the ceiling. "Sweet Oum she's alive. My niece is alive."

With all the commotion Ruby stirred in Mason's arms. She brushed away the hair that hung in her face and opened her eyes.

"Daddy?" She looked a little confused. She was supposed to be in bed. Ruby shrugged not thinking much of it and snuggled further into her father's arms. "Morning daddy."

"It's lunchtime kid." Mason said.

"Oh." Ruby perked up. "Then can I have a cookie?"

"Maybe later. There is some people you need to meet." Mason looked up at the huntsmen who were still freaking out.

"Who're they?" Ruby said looking at the huntsmen.

The two huntsmen stopped at the sound of her voice and looked at her. Qrow leaned back and muttered something along the lines of "She looks just like her mother."

Taiyang stopped his pacing and turned to Ruby. "Ruby…"

…

-2 hours and a one-sided emotional reunion later back in Vale-

…

Mason stood in the street as he watched Qrow and Taiyang walk away with Ruby.

"How do you know they won't try and arrest you once you turn your back on them?" Neir said appearing over Mason's shoulder.

"They can't arrest me anymore." Mason said. "By simply associating with me they've given me blackmail against them should they try anything."

Both the hunter and the ghost stared as the reunited family got lost in the crowd. Soon after Neir spoke up.

"You did the right thing Mason." Neir said.

"Doesn't make it hurt any less." Mason said turning back to head towards the center of Vale.

"Still." Neir said. "It's good you returned her and… Are you crying?"

"As if." Mason hung his head down to hide the tears gathering in his eyes. "The Phantom doesn't cry."

"Right…" Neir didn't believe him. "Besides, they never said you couldn't visit her in Patch."

Mason perked up at the prospect at seeing Ruby again. Wiping his eyes Mason said "You're right. I can still go and see her. Cinder can too that should cheer her up."

Masons face darkened and his hands flickered with embers. "I swear though. If I find out they hurt Ruby at all I will slaughter them."

"They won't. They're not those kinds of people." Neir bobbed. "Come on let's get you home."

"Heh." Mason sighed. "Yeah let's go. I need a nap. It's been one long ass day."

The two reached their ship and before long they were off back home.

* * *

 **AN**

* * *

 **Dear lord that was miserable to write, so much so I took two extra days to actually finish the chapter. In case you couldn't tell I'm not much of a fan of writing out sad scenes like the one above above. In all honesty I feel like the end of this chapter was rushed and poorly done. I'll probably come back and clean it up at some point.**

 **Anyway, Ruby is back home with her real parents but don't think this will be the last we see of her. She will return. Mason is training Cinder and life continues on.**

 **Just as an FYI I'm not sure if I can keep up with the weekly updates like I wanted to because of school so I cant guarantee a chapter will be out by Saturday. I'll update when the chapter is done regardless of how long it takes but they should still come out in under two weeks.**

 **Hope everyone is enjoying the story and don't forget to leave a review!**

 **Have a good one everyone!**

 **-Zeak-**


	9. Ch 8: A Familiar Festival

**All right we are back in business. We need a happy chapter and we need one now so here comes that happy chapter!**

 **Also, YAY 200 followers! Thanks so much for the support of this story! I hope in continues to get such a wonderful reception!**

 **Reviews:**

 **Minnidog118: Sorry to disappoint but this won't be the last we hear of Ruby.**

 **Potato man the semi omnipotent: I know, right? Quite the terrifying prospect isn't it.**

 **Dekuton: Glad to hear you liked it, especially if you yourself are a father, just means I'm doing it right! As someone who isn't a father it's kind of difficult to write out Mason's reactions, so any info/feedback would be greatly appreciated.**

 **Ecoolasice: Well hold on because cannon is on its way.**

 **Xeano: Glad you like the story! It means more than you know to hear someone say they like what you are doing!**

 **Midnight Ruins: Glad you like it! Also, I'm a huge fan of your own Destiny/RWBY crossover. Haven't had a chance to read the rewrite yet but keep up the good work!**

 **Ddragon21: Yeah sorry but Summer won't be coming back, at least for how I have things planned out at the moment but I'm glad you're enjoying the story!**

 **Now onto the story!**

* * *

Chapter 8: A Familiar Festival

* * *

 _~Cinder age: 10 Ruby age: 5 Mason age: Unknown, Estimated 32~_

"Come on dad!" Cinder was jumping in front of Mason's ship excitedly. "Hurry up or we're going to miss the festival!"

Mason strode over in a black long sleeve sweater and a pair of old jeans. Wrapped around his neck covering the lower part of his face was a black and orange scarf. "Calm down kid. The festival lasts for a few days. Missing a couple minutes won't mean anything."

Cinder stopped jumping and puffed her cheeks in a pout. "But daaaaad it's Halloween tonight! I don't want to miss all the candy!"

Mason sweat dropped. "Right… how could I possibly forget your insatiable sweet tooth."

"Exactly! So hurry up!" Cinder started jumping again.

Sighing in resignation, Mason Made his way over to his ship and the family of two flew off towards the city of Vale.

…

1 hour later

…

Slowly the Fatal Vision descended onto one of the many vacant launchpads. After the engines cooled a figure made his way towards the ship. A hiss could be heard as a set of stairs deployed beneath the belly of the ship and out stepped Cinder and Mason. The figure approached and waved towards them.

"About time you two showed up!" The figure waved.

The man stopped in front of the two and let a fanged smile spread across his face. Black hair was slicked back, and he was covered in white make up. His eyes were yellow and vertically slit giving him a creepy look. The man was wearing a set of red robes over a black button up shirt and brown pants.

"Uh who're you?" Cinder cocked an eyebrow.

"Wow Tukson. You really went all out this year, didn't you?" Mason smirked under his scarf.

"Wait." Cinder's eyes widened. "UNCLE TUKSON?"

Tukson smiled. "The one and- GAH!"

Tukson soon found himself on the ground tackled in a hug. "I missed you!"

"Alright, alright I missed you too Cinder." Tukson laughed. "Now can you get off me? You're messing up my costume."

"Oh whoops." Cinder awkwardly laughed as she got off her uncle. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." Tukson shook his head as he got up and dusted himself off. "You both ready to head into the city for the festival?"

"YES!" Cinder shouted and jumped in the air.

Mason smiled again. "Guess that answers your question. Let's go scare some people."

Tukson frowned. "Mason… we don't need a repeat of last year when you literally floated off of the ground, turned you head around a full 360 degrees, and then proceeded to scream like a banshee."

"Oh come on. It was one time." Mason pouted as the trio made their way into Vale proper.

"And that one time nearly caused a riot dad." Cinder admonished her father.

"Fine… I won't do it again…" Mason rolled his eyes and pulled his scarf up a bit further over his face.

The trio kept walking as Tukson spoke again. "So Cinder what are you supposed to be this year?"

"Guess." Cinder smiled.

Cinder ran a head and stopped. She turned around showing off her costume. She was colored in mostly dull orange clothing. with orange face paint and an orange wig.

"I bet you're the Fall Maiden again aren't you." Tukson smiled.

"Yep." Cinder grinned and walked back to the others.

"You go as the Fall Maiden every year Cinder. Don't you think you should go as something else?" Tukson asked.

Mason laughed. "Good luck trying to get her not to. Ever since I bought that book from your store years ago she's always wanted to be the fall maiden."

"Yeah what dad said. And the Fall Maiden is so cool!" Cinder skipped along. "She can fly, has awesome fire powers like me and dad, can create lightning, and can change the trees to pretty colors! She's just so amazing!"

"You seem to admire her quite a bit." Tukson laughed.

"Admire her?" Cinder tilted her head. "No not really. I just think that the powers she has are really cool. Man, if I had those powers I could do all sorts of fun stuff! Besides. How can I admire her if I've never actually met her?"

"Because the maidens are supposed to go around and bring the seasons and bring joy to those around them? Seems pretty admirable to me." Tukson said.

"Well what's to admire about that? The bringing of the season is her job so she should just do it. And the whole bringing joy to those around her wholly depends on what she's like as a person so if I haven't met her then how do I know if she's not some raging bitch who's just doing her job." Cinder shrugged.

"Cinder, language please. We're in public." Mason lightly scolded.

"Sorry." She sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck.

"Sounds to me you admire her power more than you do the actual idea of the fall maiden." Tukson sweat dropped.

"Yup cause if I had that power I bet I could finally beat dad in one of our spares!" Cinder smiled at the idea.

Mason laughed. "Even if you had all four maiden's powers you would still be centuries behind my skill level."

Cinder puffed her cheeks in a pout. "You say that now but one day I'll be a hunter even stronger than you are."

Mason ruffled her hair a bit with his hand. "Keep dreaming kid."

Cinder replied by sticking her out her tongue.

Mason laughed. "Come on we're almost to the main square. We don't want to miss the opening of the festival."

Together the three walked into the main square of Vale. The large open area of the city was completely decorated to celebrate Halloween and the following harvest festivals. Orange string lights hung from buildings and lampposts while various food stands could be found all around selling delicious fall foods. People and faunus alike were dressed in costumes ranging from the local legends to more recent and popular characters. Some were dressed as creatures of grimm and others were dressed as huntsmen and huntresses. In the center of the large square was a stage decorated with fake trees, pumpkins and fall colored leaves. Street performers were everywhere showing their skill while everyone waited for the official opening of the festival.

Taking a deep sniff of the air Mason sighed. "I love the smell of cinnamon sugar donuts. Anyone want one there's a stand right over there."

Cinder squealed in delight and rushed over to the stand while Tukson shrugged and followed.

The three bought their donuts and stood off to the side to enjoy their snacks.

"Oooohhh that's it." Mason moaned in delight. "Traveler do I wish I could have these year-round."

"You can." Tukson said in-between bites. "They aren't that hard to make."

"Yeah but then they lose that special 'its fall and everything is pretty' feeling." Mason said finishing his donut.

Meanwhile cinder held a flaming finger up to her donut and lightly toasted it before comping down happily. Mason and Tukson watched with interest.

"Cinder what was that for?" Tukson asked.

Cinder shrugged. "There're better warm."

Mason licked the sugar off his fingers. "Well you're not wrong."

The little group sat down on a nearby bench and listened to the bustling, jovial atmosphere.

"Tukson? Is that you?" Someone said from off to the side.

Tukson and Mason turned to the side to see three people dressed up in costume.

One was a large man wearing a set of denim overalls, construction boots, a red and black plaid flannel shirt and had a grey beanie on his head. He had a gruff face and a magnificent black beard. He looked like the perfect lumberjack complete with rubber ax at his side.

Next to him was a woman who had short black hair and a pair of black cat ears and yellow eyes. She was dressed in a bloody white dress with a large bloody gash in her abdomen and had pale make-up all over her exposed skin.

Holding the woman's hand was a small girl with cat ears just like her mother only she was dressed in all black and had a plastic sword on her back.

"Uh… Do you know these people Tukson?" Mason turned to look at Tukson.

Tukson stood up and turned towards the other three. "Ghira! Kali! What brings you to Vale?"

"I guess you do…" Mason said under his breath while Cinder sat silently eating another donut.

"Oh you know just in town on business before we head back to Menagerie." The woman, Kali, said with a smile.

"Well I'm glad you were able to make it to the festival." Tukson returned the smile.

"Agreed." Said Ghira as he scooped up his daughter in his arms. "It's been to long since we were able to enjoy a festival as a family."

"Hello Blake." Tukson wave at the small girl who shyly waved back.

"Who're your friends Tukson?" Mason stood up and strode over, Cinder following him.

"Oh Mason. This is Ghira and Kali Belladonna and that's their daughter Blake." Tukson waved to the family.

"Pleasure to meet you. The name's Mason Fall and this is my daughter Cinder." Mason stuck his hand out.

"The pleasure is ours." Ghira said with a smile while he took Mason's hand in a vice grip and shook it. Mason returned it. "So where's this daughter you mentioned?"

"Hmm?" Mason looked behind himself and found Cinder trying to hide behind his legs. "Oh! She's right here. She's a bit shy around new people. Come on out Cinder they aren't going to hurt you."

Cinder slowly stepped out from behind Mason and introduced herself. "H-hello. My names Cinder Fall. It's very nice to meet you."

"Oh aren't you just the cutest thing." Kali clapped her hands together and smiled.

Cinder looked down and fidgeted with her fingers, embarrassed. "T-thank you miss."

"so what's everyone supposed to be? I'm assuming everyone's in costume?" Mason asked.

"Oh nothing to fancy." Kali smiled. "My husband and I decided to go as a family that had a tragic romantic falling out that ended in with the death of the wife in a cruel twist of fate."

"She means we're going as an ax murderer and his victim." Ghira deadpanned.

Kali lightly punched his arm. "Oh your no fun. What's life without a little bit of romance."

Tukson laughed. "You two never change do you. Well I've gone for the classic vampire look. And unless I missed my guess I bet Blake there is a ninja."

Blake shyly nodded her ears twitching slightly.

Smiling under his scarf Mason pointed to Cinder. "Well Cinder here went as the fall maiden, fire powers included."

Cinder looked up and smiled as she lit her fingers on fire.

"Oh very cool." Kali said.

"What about you Mason?" Tukson said. "You must have gone as something. It's not like you to miss a chance to dress up."

Mason snickered. "Oh I came as something alright."

Mason started to undo the scarf that covered his lower face. As the cloth dropped away everyone minus Cinder stepped back. Where masons lower jaw should have been was only his jaw bone. Pale white bone and teeth wreathed in blue flame chattered in silent laughter as mason looked at the horrified faces of those around him.

Sliding the sleeves of his shirt up past his elbow revealed the pale bones of his for arms instead of normal human flesh.

"What?" Mason's blue boney face chattered. "Never seen the living dead before?"

"Daaad stop your scaring them!" Cinder whined as she lightly hit him.

"Fine…" Mason raised a hand to his neck and flipped a hidden switch in his shirt. His face and arms flickered for a moment before the exposed bone was replaced with normal human skin. "That better?"

"Yes." Cinder said.

An awkward silence persisted for a moment before Tukson facepalmed. "Dammit Mason. I already told you we don't want a repeat of last year."

"How did you do that?" Ghira asked questioningly.

"Localized holograms." Mason smiled. "They can do some pretty cool things. Watch this."

Mason flipped the switch under his shirt again only this time instead of bone his head turned into that of a fish. Its big eyes wandering aimlessly. "Pretty cool huh?"

"Amazing." Kali said looking composed, but her eyes clearly showed she was holding back from pouncing on the fish head. Blake on the other hand was actively struggling against her father's arms.

Turning off the hologram Masons fish head returned to his normal human one.

"How did you get such advanced technology Mr. Fall?" Ghira asked. "I've never seen anything like that before."

Mason grinned. "Made it myself. It's the only one in the world as far as I'm aware of."

"You must be quite the scientist if you were able to make such an advanced piece of equipment."

"Eh." Mason shrugged. "It's just a hobby really. Most of my time is taken up with this little monster right here." Mason rubbed Cinder's hair.

Kali smiled. "I bet you've done a wonderful job raising her."

"I would hope so although she has seemed to have picked up my penchant for snark." Mason said. "You three should stop by for dinner before the festival is over. Get out of the city and enjoy the forests a bit before you head back to Menagerie."

"We'd love to." Kali said. "Would you like us to bring anything?"

"Nah, I got it covered unless you have any special requests." Mason said.

Ghira chuckled. "Well as you might have seen, little Blake here has a preference for fish I'm sure she'd appreciate it if there was fish for her to eat." Blakes ears perked a bit at the mention of fish.

Mason nodded. "I can do that."

A loud tapping noise was heard from the stage as a man tapped a microphone to test if it was on.

"Well it seems they are about to open the festival, so we best be going." Ghira said. "It was good to see you Tukson and you Mason."

"Oh right!" Mason said. "You guys need the address."

Mason reached into his pocket and wrote down where he lived on a small slip of paper. Passing it to Ghira he said. "It's some ways outside of Vale in the woods so it might be difficult to find me. Give me or Tukson a call if you can't find my house."

Ghira nodded. "We'll see you tomorrow for dinner then."

"I'll look forward to it." Mason smiled shaking Ghira's hand, both with less of a vice grip than before.

The Belladonna family turned and left heading towards the stage just as the speaker began the opening ceremony.

"You know." Mason turned to Tukson. "I never expected the leaders of the White Fang to be so nice. Or have such an adorable daughter."

"They are wonderful people who just want the best for their friends and family." Tukson nodded. "It's a shame they are stepping down from leading the White Fang soon since Ghira was nominated to be chief of Menagerie."

"Well enough standing around." Mason said. "what do you guys say we go and join in on the festivities and do some trick-or-treating."

Cinder and Tukson nodded and the trio made their way into the crowd just as the speaker announced the festival open and speakers began playing the Monster Mash.

* * *

 **AN**

* * *

 **Two weeks I said… This will be up on Halloween I said… Midterms won't get in the way I said…**

 **Boy was I wrong.**

 **Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this little Halloween themed chapter.**

 **In case, anyone was wondering, Mason's 'costume' was a modification of the blue skull from the first festival of the lost in Destiny 1. Cinder's was based of the book rendition of the Fall Maiden not Amber since we don't know she exists yet.**

 **Hope everyone is enjoying the story and don't forget to leave a review or PM me.**

 **Hope everyone had a great Halloween and is having a good schoolyear.**

 **Have a good one Everyone!**

 **-Zeak-**

 **Edit: Is anyone opposed to me bringing in characters from other franchises? They would all be tailored to fit the RWBYverse and wouldn't be OP. just curious since I had an idea I might like to explore. If not I'll just have to make OCs.**


	10. Ch 9: A Day in the Life

**Woot. New chapter. We are rapidly approaching Cinder's time at the preliminary hunting academies, so school shenanigans are sure to follow! Or I might skip over it since I'm not to sure what to write for that kind of a shit show.**

 **Let me know if you have any preferences on how much of school life everyone is interested in seeing before we hit the time of cannon and plot starts occurring!**

 **Also it's been a while since I did a disclaimer so here's that:**

 **I do not own Destiny, RWBY, or any songs used in this story. All credit belongs Bungie, Roosterteeth, and the various artists of the songs I use. I do however own my OC's and any unique plot I develop for this story.**

 **Now the reviews:**

 **Everyone: It seems that the general consensus is that other characters are okay so long as they fit and get RWBY-fied I don't plan on adding to many just one or two, that will be reoccurring. I'll drop a hint for who I might include as recurring characters if I decide to do it. Sand and Sword. There's your hint. Others might appear as a sort of cameo sort of deal.**

 **Midnight Ruins: Glad you're excited! And in case it wasn't obvious from the beginning she is completely different.**

 **: Oh I like you. I like your snark.**

 **MaskedRiderEnzo: Purrrrrfect ;D**

 **Jose566: If I thought I could write a good ranger I would but alas I cannot!**

 **Ecoolasice: Well here you go! Glad to see you enjoy the story so much!**

 **Nitiam15: That's what I was going for. They would be what their normal characters were only they were born and raised on Remnant.**

* * *

Chapter 9: A Day in the Life

* * *

 _~Cinder age: 11 Ruby age: 6 Mason age: Unknown, Estimated 32~_

 _-Summer-_

The bedroom was dark and messy. Mason slept sprawled out on his bed, the sheets crumpled to one side, in a pair of boxers and black t-shirt. His hair was an absolute mess with his face buried in a pillow.

Slowly the door to Mason's room opened revealing a short silhouette standing in the door. The figure moved into the dark room and closed the door behind it. Making its way to the bed, the figure climbed onto the bed before pushing Mason.

"Dad…" Cinder said as she nudged Mason. "Dad?"

"Mmmmpph." Mason groaned as he rolled over. "Cinder? What are you doing awake?"

Cinder sat quietly before speaking. "I had a bad dream."

Mason sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. "Mmm? What was it about?"

Cinder grabbed Mason in a tight hug and mumbled something into his shoulder.

"I didn't quite catch that." Mason said returning Cinders hug.

Lifting her head, Cinder spoke again. "The police and huntsmen came and took you away… you were on fire and crying. Uncle Tukson was there too but he… he was…" Cinder looked like she was on the verge of tears.

"Shhhhh. It's okay." Mason hugged Cinder tighter. "Me and your uncle aren't going anywhere. It was just a dream."

Cinder began to sob into Mason's shoulder as he gently rubbed her back. They sat together for some time before Mason gently pulled her away. "Are you ok? Do you want me to not go on a mission tomorrow?"

Cinder shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. "I do. I just… I don't…" She began to sob again and gripped Masons shirt as he pulled her into another tight hug. "Please don't leave me."

"Now why would I do that." Mason said. "You're my daughter and I'm your father. I love you Cinder. I've told you before, I won't leave you because you burnt a few things. You could kill me and I'd still love you like a father should."

"All I do is destroy things though. Everything I touch just… just burns. I'm a monster." Cinder cried into Mason's shirt.

Mason squeezed her tightly. "If you're a monster then what does that make me? Just because your semblance is difficult to control, and you've had a few bad experiences with it doesn't make you a monster. You aren't a monster Cinder and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"But-"

"No buts." Mason said. "You are Cinder Fall, daughter of Mason Fall, master thief, future fall maiden, and the best damn S'more cook in the world."

Cinder giggled slightly. "Stop. Your embarrassing me."

"Oh am I?" Mason raised and eyebrow. "Then how about I do THIS instead!"

Cinder squealed as Mason began to tickle her. She tried to run but ultimately failed to escape Mason's attacking hands. The father daughter duo rolled around on Mason's bed in a tickle fight before eventually settling down.

The two sat together in the dark together for some time before Cinder raised her head. "Can I sleep with you tonight… I'm scared."

"Sure." Mason said quietly.

Mason laid Cinder down in his bed. He uncrumpled his sheets and pulled them over themselves. Soon after, both of them were fast asleep once more.

…

The next morning

…

"Dad?" Cinder said through a mouthful of waffles.

"Yeah?" Mason said as he washed dishes leftover from cooking dinner last night.

"You say you're a hunter, but you don't have a hunter's license." Cinder set her fork on her plate. "I mean I get that we're criminals but to be a hunter don't you need a huntsman ID?"

Mason paused scrubbing the dishes a thought for a moment. "Well Cinder, that's only if you want to be a huntsman or huntress. What I am and do is both similar and different. Or at least what I used to do."

"What do you mean?" Cinder took another bite of food.

"Well, I'm a Hunter. Not a Huntsmen. They are two different things that can easily get mixed up because of their similarities." Mason said.

"So what's a hunter then if it's different than a huntsman?"

Mason sat quietly, debating whether or not to tell Cinder about just what he was. In the end he chose an explanation that would fit into the workings of Remnant.

"I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you. Not that it would mean anything anymore." Mason sighed. "But first you need to know something. Once upon a time there was a group of people unknown to the world who were the protectors of humanity and fought against the hordes of Grimm and anything else that was set on ending humanities existence. They were a secret order, no one knew about aside from the Grimm and others of their order."

"So kind of like a warrior version of the Illuminati?" Cinder asked in between bites.

"You could say that yes." Mason said. "They were known as Guardians. People blessed with unimaginably powerful semblances and Aura. There were three types of Guardians. Titans, stalwart, honorable, and beyond all else, strong. Warlocks, masters of aura and scholarly geniuses. And finally, Hunters, masters of stealth and scouting."

Cinder's eyes widened, and Mason nodded.

"So you are one of those Guardians?" Cinder asked incredulously.

"Was." Mason said bitterly.

"Was what?"

"I was a Guardian." Mason shook his head. "Not anymore though."

"Why not? Being a Guardian sounds awesome." Cinder asked.

"Oh it was. The thrill we got fighting was like a drug." Mason laughed lightly. "But unfortunately, I had a falling out with the other Guardians."

Mason sighed. "I was never the most honest one of us. I cheated people out of their money. I played dirty during our training exercises. I lied about some of my accomplishments. I ruined my credibility as a person. Eventually six of us went on a mission to fight and kill an incredibly strong Grimm known as Crota."

Shuddering Mason continued. "Six of us went to fight that… Thing. Two of us came back, and only one was still remotely sane. We killed that monster but in the process, we discovered an even greater threat. I tried to warn the other Guardians, but no one believed me. No one thought to trust the liar, the cheater. Eventually it came to a point where I got into a fight with three other Guardians. They tried to kill me."

"It ended with me alive and surrounded by the corpses of my friends and brothers in arms. Shortly after I was exiled and my status as a Guardian was revoked, I was lucky to leave with my life. My only regret about leaving is that I didn't see the look on their faces when the threat I tried to warn them about showed up and nearly destroyed them."

The father and daughter sat quietly for a moment. Eventually Mason perked up and clapped his hands. "Alright. We got a bit off topic, but a Hunter is a Guardian who is a master of stealth, an expert tracker, and a scout for the higher ups. Our job is to keep tabs on all the Grimm and report anything that seems dangerous and, if we can, kill any dangerous threats. If I'm being completely honest we might as well be called huntsmen, but our pride will never let that happen."

"But how are you a hunter if you're not a Guardian anymore?" Cinder asked.

"You don't lose your title as a Hunter when you are no longer a Guardian. The only way you can get that title is if you become a Guardian. Well that or you become a Warlock or a Titan, but you get the idea." Mason shrugged.

Cinder nodded. "Do hunters have any special powers? Or are you just a secret society of Huntsmen?"

"Ah right. Forgot about that." Mason said. "Most Guardians can use three semblances. Some can only use one like me but we are few and far between. Depending on which class of Guardian, Titan, Warlock, or Hunter, you are determining what kind of semblances you have access to."

Mason held up three fingers. "Each semblance we can use corresponds to one of three elements. Sol, the flames of the sun, Void, the essence of nothing, and Arc, the electricity of the most violent of lightning. Only one semblance could be used at a time, but they could be switched at any time."

"So why can you only use one?" Cinder asked.

"Because." Mason said. "I'm what's known as a natural born. I can't use the other two semblances but in exchange the one I can use is immensely more powerful."

"Oh." Cinder said. "Then can I become a Guardian?"

"No." Mason shook his head. "You are born a guardian. You don't just choose to become one. There are other requirements but even if you completed them you wouldn't be allowed to join because of how close you are to me."

Both sat in an awkward silence for a moment.

"You're taking this surprisingly well." Mason said cautiously.

Cinder shrugged. "Eh. I've just accepted that you're weird and to just not question it anymore."

"That's oddly mature." Mason said.

Cinder raised an eyebrow. "Dad. I've seen you dance on top of a car doing 70 down the highway while wearing a paper-mache tiger mask. I hardly think me being 'mature' is the weirdest thing you or I have ever seen.

Mason raised a finger for a moment to say something but dropped it and shook his head. "Fair point."

…

After breakfast.

…

"Dad?" Cinder asked. "What are we doing out here to train? Don't you have a mission tonight? And why are you shirtless?"

Mason stood in front of Cinder with his arms crossed, dressed in a pair of black sweatpants. He wore no shirt, exposing the massive scar crossing his toned chest.

"After last night you were clearly not in a good state of mind to be left alone, so I called the mission off. I'm shirtless because it's nice out and starting today I'm teaching you how to dance." Mason said completely serious.

"Dance? What does that have to do with anything?" Cinder asked cocking her head slightly.

"Everything. Since I started training you, I've noticed that your movements are stiff and blunt." Mason stated. "If you were a brawler that would be perfectly fine, but you're not so in the long run that type of style is going to do you more harm than good."

"How would that hurt me?"

"It's all in your body type. You are not physically strong, so taking hits is going to hurt a lot more than it would others. Fighting how you have been is going to result in you hurting yourself more than your opponent." Mason said. "You, much to my displeasure, are more suited to fight like a Bladedancer with sharp, fluid movements that are so fast it's difficult to see where they come from."

"What's a Bladedancer and why don't you sound very happy about telling me about them?" Cinder asked.

Mason frowned. "I've told you how I am a Gunslinger correct?"

"Yeah, you said that it is one of the three divisions of Hunters. It means you are more suitable for mid-to-long ranged combat."

"Half of that is true. Yes. It's one of the three divisions of hunters, but it has no bearing on how suitable I am for different combat ranges. The thing about Hunters is that we all share similar powers, like I said this morning. Gunslingers can use fire like I've shown you. Nightstalkers are an odd bunch, much more so than the other hunters and are much more solitary. They are not particularly common and spend most of their time alone in the wilds. They use the powers of the void instead of fire."

"They're the other subdivision of hunters, right? Other than Gunslingers and Bladedancers?" Cinder asked.

"Bingo." Mason sighed before continuing. "Now Bladedancers, or more recently when I last heard anything, Arcstriders, use the powers of lightning or Arc as most call it back home. They are blindingly fast. They are brutal. And they are the most annoying, hyperactive, little pricks I have ever had the displeasure of meeting, most of them that is. The easiest way to describe the three divisions is like this. Gunslingers are unparalleled marksmen. Nightstalkers are completely unpredictable masters of stealth beyond that of normal Hunters. And Bladedancers are incredibly fast."

Cinder tilted her head to the side in confusion. "So why don't you like Bladedancers then?"

"Imagine trying to shoot something moving as fast as a lightning bolt. Then imagine as that same lightning bolt taunting you. Then imagine getting toyed with by that lightning bolt when taunting you is no longer amusing. That is what it is like to face a Bladedancer." Mason grumbled out in frustration.

"Then why not teach me how to fight like a Nightstalker if you don't like a Bladedancers?"

"Because, One: You are not weird enough to be a Nighstalker and Two: To become a Nightsalker would mean that I'd have to leave you alone in this forest until you were twenty before you could even consider reaching the level of natural stealth to become one. And I don't believe that either of us want that. So with your naturally thinner and more limber body, being a Bladedancer suits you best, even if you use fire instead of lightning. I'm actually curious if we can adapt your flames to act in a similar way to the Bladedancer's super."

Cinder shuddered at the idea of being stuck alone in the forest for nine years. That was not something she wanted to experience. Raising her head, she asked. "Super?"

"It's another word for semblance that Guardians use."

"Ah ok." Cinder nodded in understanding. "So what does dancing have to do with this?"

"It's in the name. Blade _Dancer_. Rather than 'fight', Bladedancers 'dance' around their opponents with fast fluid motions. It just so happens that dancing quite literally how Bladedancers teach themselves to fight. It's also why no one has ever out danced a Bladedancer in the history of ever, but that's just an added bonus."

Cinder shrugged. "Ok. Then where do we start?"

"Every fight has some rhythm to it that you can follow. No matter how much people believe there isn't, that rhythm is what you need to follow. The fight becomes your music and you need to dance to survive."

"Once you can find that rhythm and start to move with it you become nye untouchable because you can predict shots before they are even made." Mason said and then went silent before continuing. "A Bladedancer is most vulnerable at the start of a fight because a rhythm has yet to be found. But once they have one they are a force to be reckoned with."

"To start your training, you need to learn to find the beat and rhythm of music. From there we'll move to the rhythm of world around you. Next will be the rhythm of hand to hand combat. Finally, will be the rhythm of a gun fight. Expert Bladedancers have this skill honed to such a point they can tell the rhythm of a fight as an opponent is raising their weapon." Mason crossed his arms across his chest and raised his chin. "Neir, you have my playlist ready?"

"Ready when you are." Neir materialized into the air.

"Ready Cinder? You are not to stop moving until I say so or the music stops. Got it?"

Cinder straightened up and nodded.

"Then without further adu. Neir? Hit it." Mason uncrossed his arms and the music began to play.

…

That night after dinner.

…

"Ugh…" Cinder grumbled as she walked through the front door. "I am so full."

Mason strode in past her and patted her head. "Just means you're going to sleep well tonight."

Mason made his way into his room and shut the door. Cinder sat down on the couch and stared at the ceiling. A moment later Mason came out of his room in a pair of shorts, white t-shirt, and a towel around his neck.

"I'm going to lay on the beach for a bit Cinder. You coming?" He said.

Looking up from the couch Cinder nodded. "Sure. Can we make smores?"

"I thought you said you were full?" Mason said throwing on a pair of sandals.

"I always have room for S'mores." Cinder said.

Mason laughed. "Alright go grab the stuff. I'll meet you outside."

A ten minutes later Mason and Cinder were sitting on a towel on the beach in front of a small fire pit, flames flickering in the light breeze coming off the ocean. The two sat with a bag of marshmallows, a box of gram crackers, and a few chocolate bars to one side as they slowly roasted two of the marshmallows over the fire. Mason's quickly caught fire and burnt to a crisp as he let of a curse.

"Dammit!" Mason growled. "Every damn time."

Cinder giggled at her father's misfortune.

"How do you do it Cinder." Mason shook his head. "I cannot for the life of me roast a marshmallow properly."

Cinder giggled again. "It's a secret."

Mason gasped. "You're keeping secrets from your dear ol' dad? Cinder I am deeply wounded."

Smiling cheekily, Cinder ignored her fathers feigned offence and took her perfectly roasted, golden brown sweet off the fire. Placing the marshmallow on a gram cracker with some chocolate she ate her S'more happily while Mason grumbled obscenities as he burnt another one.

After several more failed attempts Mason gave up on successfully roasting one of the white sweets and threw his stick into the fire, watching the sparks and smoke plume into the sky.

"It's pretty." Cinder eventually said, breaking Mason out of his trance.

"Hmmm? What is?"

"The sky." Cinder pointed her stick to the starry sky above them.

Mason nodded. "Sure is."

"Hey dad?" Cinder tossed her stick into the fire.

"Hmm?"

"Has anyone ever been to the moon?"

Mason shook his head. "No but people have certainly tried. Dust doesn't work outside the atmosphere so anything that went above it just fell back to the ground."

"Oh." Cinder mumbled.

"Why do you ask?"

"I thought it would be cool to visit the moon." Cinder said longingly.

Mason nodded and tucked that information aside for later. She didn't need to know that he could take her to the moon quite yet.

The two sat in a comfortable silence, Cinder leaning against Mason's shoulder while he wrapped his arm around her. Mason began to gently hum as Cinder snuggled in closer to her father. Mason swayed gently back and forth before he began to sing:

 **(AN, For those interested Play Fly me to the Moon By Frank Sinatra)**

"Fly me to the moon." Mason sang lightly. "Let me play among the stars."

Cinder smiled at the song and joined in. "Let me see what spring is like, On a, Jupiter and Mars."

"In other words, hold my hand. In other words, baby, kiss me" Mason poked Cinders forehead and she giggled.

"Fill my heart with song and let me sing for ever more." Cinder smiled wider.

"You are all I long for. All I worship and adore." Mason tapped a light rhythm on his leg "In other words, please be true. In other words, I love you."

Mason began to whistle out the solo as Cinder swayed along with the song. Mason soon ended the solo and they continued on.

"Fill my heart with song. Let me sing for ever more." They sang together. "You are all I long for, all I worship and adore. In other words, please be true. In other words, in other words…"

Mason poked Cinders forehead again. "I" Mason poked her once more. "love" Mason pulled Cinder into a hug. "you."

Cinder laughed at Mason's antics but embraced his hug.

"You remembered all the words this time!" Mason said happily.

Cinder nodded. "I've been practicing!"

"Oh have you now?" Mason raised an eyebrow. "Any other songs you know?"

"No but I'm working on it!"

"Then don't sing any new songs in front of me until you can do it. I want it to be a surprise when I hear you sing again okay?"

"Okay" Cinder had a wide smile plastered on her face as she pulled away from Mason's hug.

"Come on." Mason stood up. "It's getting late and you have another busy day of training tomorrow."

Cinder groaned but stood up. "Fine."

Together they put out their little fire and began their walk back to the house for a long night's sleep.

* * *

 **AN**

* * *

 **All right folks. There you have it. Pretty soon after the last chapter release if I do say so myself!**

 **So as you can see, Mason has revealed what Guardians are to Cinder even if it is a highly edited version of their story. Mason is training Cinder to fight like a Bladedancer because of how her body is built. It might be more accurate to call her a Flamedancer however since she uses fire instead of lightning.**

 **Also, just as a reminder. Any characters that I bring in from other franchises will be edited to fit the RWBYverse. Most will only be cameo appearances and only one or two will be recurring characters.**

 **Don't forget to leave a review or PM me any questions!**

 **Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far!**

 **Have a good one everyone!**

 **-Zeak-**


	11. Ch 10: The Vaults

**Woot Woot! Ten real chapters! I'm really quite surprised at how well this story is doing to be honest. This just started as a whim after I read some Mama Cinder AU stuff and now here I am with a story that's, if I counted correctly on the app, in the top 25 Destiny crossovers on this site by favorites and follows!**

 **As such here are the stats for this story so far, prior to the posting of this chapter!**

 **Views: 24,701**

 **Reviews: 82**

 **Favorites: 208**

 **Follows: 285**

 **Word Count: 32,102**

 **Now as for the near future of this fic. Right now, I plan for about three to five chapters before we hit what would be considered the cannon timeline. This one, one or two about her elementary huntsmen school, and one or two about Cinders secondary huntsmen school or criminal activities depending on if I send her to a secondary academy.**

 **Reviews:**

 **MaskedRiderEnzo: Glad you're looking forward to it. Personally, I'm not very good with fight scenes, hence the slice of life approach so far, but I'll do my best!**

 **: Lord no. I may enjoy writing about Cinder's childhood, but I have to get to cannon at some point.**

 **WritersMind: Ok so the easiest way to describe the age I'm giving mason is his biological age even though technically he doesn't grow old.**

 **Potato man the semi omnipotent: I make no promises.**

 **Lost Guy: Why stop at the moon?**

 **Lt. Frostdromeda: That was the goal. Glad you're enjoying it!**

 **Dekuton: Ah you read my mind. You'll get one or two chapters of academy life before we hit cannon.**

 **Guest #1: Glad someone shows approval for the song segments! I was wondering what people thought about those bits.**

 **Guest #2: And more I'm making!**

 **Phantomwa1ker: Glad you like it. If you thought the last bit was intriguing, then you'll love this chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 10: The Vaults

* * *

 _~Cinder age: 11 Ruby age: 6 Mason age: Unknown, Estimated 33~_

Ring… Ring… Ring…

"Hello?" Neir answered the call.

"Neir? It's me. Tukson." The person calling said.

"Ah Tukson! It's good to hear from you!" Neir said happily as he bobbed around the living room.

"Yeah good to talk to you too. Listen. Is Mason there I have a rather… interesting request that came in for him."

"Uh…" Neir floated over to the window to look out.

Outside Mason was hunched over a table, tools in hand, tinkering with a short black cylinder.

"He's a tad busy at the mom-"

 _BOOM_

Neir was cut off by a loud resounding explosion from outside. Flinching back at the noise Neir watched as the black cylinder exploded in in Mason's face throwing him back onto the ground.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Mason shouted.

"What was that?" Tukson asked through the phone call.

Neir sighed. "Nothing. Just one of Mason's projects blowing up in his face. Literally."

"Which one?"

"His dust sword." Neir grumbled.

"He does know he can buy those right?" Tukson said.

"No, you can't. He's trying to make a dust energy sword."

"What do you mean?" Tukson asked.

"You ever seen Star Wars?" Neir floated out of the door to survey the damage caused by the explosion.

"He's trying to make a lightsaber? But that's impossible!" Tukson sounded genuinely surprised.

"That's just it though. It's not." Neir shook disapprovingly at the newest crater in the front yard. "About a month ago Mason managed to get a concentrated beam of fire dust light to form. It lasted only ten seconds and was only three inches long but the fact that he got that to form has him absolutely determined to actually make a real functioning lightsaber."

"…" Tukson was quiet.

"That was my reaction when he told me. I know."

"I… I… Can I just talk to Mason?" Neir could practically see Tukson holding the bridge of his nose as he said that.

"Yeah one second." Neir floated over to where Mason was still sprawled out on the scorched grass.

"Mason." Neir turned his brown optic down to look at the hunter. "Tukson's on the line."

Mason sighed in exasperation. "Put him through."

The ear piece in Mason's ear buzzed to life as Neir patched Tukson's call over.

"Yo Tukson. What's up?" Mason said, still lying on the ground.

"Nothing much. Other than the fact that the just about everyone is in one hell of an uproar over you revealing your name after that last heist you pulled." Tukson said.

"It was going to happen sooner or later. Especially since there are multitudes of huntsmen tracking me. Besides I told them my old name, Mason Vermillion. I'm Mason Fall. I'll be fine." Mason crossed his arms behind his neck and stared up into the sky.

"I hope you're right Mason." Tukson sighed. "Look. I got a rather interesting request earlier today."

"Oh?" Mason quirked an eyebrow in interest. "You haven't called a request interesting in a long time, well who's it from and what do they want?"

"That's just it. It's from the Schnee Dust Company. There is no request other than for a meeting, two days from now, with no destination given!" Tukson said, confusion evident in his voice.

Mason let a smirk worm its way onto his face. "Well well well. It has been a while since I got a request from them. I guess Neir pissed her off she decided to come to you instead."

"What are you talking about Mason?"

"Don't worry. This is standard protocol for them. I know where to go. I've gotten similar requests from them before. They like to discuss requests in person, so I guess I have a snowflake to meet up with." Mason waved off Tukson's question. "You said to meet them in two days, right?"

"Yes, although I don't like the lack of information they are giving us to work with, they didn't even say who you were meeting."

"Relax. I didn't either at first but it's just how they do things. Less information means less likelihood of people tracing things back to them. Besides I already know who wants to talk to me. Only one person in that family has the balls to meet me, let alone request my services." Mason waved off Tukson's concern again.

"Oh?" Tukson sounded curious. "And just who might that be."

Mason laughed. "Why none other than-"

…

Two days later, Kingdom of Atlas, Schnee manor, Master Bedroom

…

"Weich Schnee." Mason smirked as he leaned against the far wall of the room. "So… How're the kids?"

Closing the door to the bedroom stood a modestly sized woman. She wore her white hair in a tight bun but let her bangs hang down to frame her face. Cold blue eyes that held an oddly warm softness in them stared the hunter down. She carried herself with an air of confidence further accented by her well-kept appearance and dainty white skin. She wore a light blue buttoned vest and a white blouse with a dark blue skirt that reached just above her knees. White stockings covered her legs and she wore a pair of white flats on her feet.

"Mason." The woman said calmly.

"Ara ara." Mason chuckled. "Why so cold Snowflake? You were the one to request my services were you not."

The woman sighed and seemed to age ten years in an instant. "Mason. I am not in the mood for your brand of stupid. Especially after talking to that insufferable assistant of yours. I may be nothing more than a trophy wife to that bastard of a husband I have, but I will still demand to receive some respect."

"Ah, but I do respect you Mrs. Schnee." Mason's smirk widened. "You are, after all, the only person in this family that doesn't have the proverbial stick shoved up their ass twenty-four seven. I gave you my name after all as a sign of trust after all. And if you're talking about Neir he only does it because he likes you."

The woman scoffed. "Well tell him he can stuff it. And it's not like knowing your name even matters anymore since you released it to the rest of the world."

Mason's smirk died down a little bit. "My my. Word travels fast doesn't it. Very well I'll try to keep a reign on how I act. What is it that you need my services for? Or am I here to be a therapist again?"

And with that statement the professional demeanor went out the window. "Both actually I have a need for your services and I seriously need a drinking buddy. Oum above its been to long since I got hammered."

Mason let out a violent snort. "You really are the opposite of your name aren't you."

"What's THAT supposed to mean?" The Schnee matriarch said as she flopped face down on her bed, decency be dammed.

"Your name literally means _Soft Snow_ and from what I've seen, unless it pertains to your kids, you are anything but soft." Mason said as he sat down in a chair next to a desk.

"You're rough, vulgar, outspoken, rarely take shit from anyone, and can pound a bottle of wine back in the time it takes me to _Schneez_." Weich Schnee winced at each declaration and scowled at his pun.

"Ass. If you know me so well just skip the foreplay and just fuck me already." She said clearly voicing her frustration.

Mason snickered. "Sorry Snowflake not gonna happen."

"Tch." Weich sneered. "Damn. Either way my offer stands. Do you have any idea how hard it is to feel satisfied when the man you're with has a pecker the size of my pinky? I've had more fun with a bed post."

"To much information Snowflake." Mason actually blushed at her words. "Way too much information."

"So seriously what did you want." Mason said. "I've already figured you needed to vent but you said you needed my services for something else?"

Weich sighed as she sat up in the bed. "Yes. Two things actually. I would like you to train my daughter Winter."

"Oh?" Mason raised an eyebrow. "Where's this coming from? And won't she be attending one of the elementary combat schools soon?"

"Yes, she will, but I would like her to have a leg up on the other students. She is well versed in the family semblance, but she lacks proper combat training." Weich said.

"Well I'm going to have to refuse." Mason said holding up a hand as the Schnee matriarch went to protest. "I am already training someone, that coupled with my other… business adventures… I don't have the time to train your daughter. Besides that's what the combat schools are for. To train kids for combat."

"Shit… Not even if I throw in exclusive discounts on Schnee dust?" Weich asked.

"Nope." Mason said.

"Damnit. Fine. The second thing is for my other daughter." Weich stood off the bed and pulled something out from underneath it.

The Schnee matriarch rested a long, white, metal case with the Schnee family crest engraved in the top right corner on the bed. She popped the clips that held the case closed and opened the case revealing a red satin interior.

Mason stood and looked inside, his curiosity piqued.

"Now that's a Katana." Mason whistled lightly.

"Shut up dumbass. Keep your perverted jokes to yourself." Weich lightly punched Mason's arm.

"Fine. Fine." Mason laughed. "But seriously, that's quite the cross sword you have there."

"Mmm." Weich hummed a small smile gracing her face. "It was built around the time when guns were first being combined with melee weapons, so it's not particularly complex and lacks a magazine for additional shots. It's a cross sword whose sheath can turn it into a single shot shotgun. It was my fathers and has become a sort of family heirloom."

"Huh." Mason gently picked up the weapon and observed. "Looks like papa Schnee had good taste. Its balanced perfectly and from the looks of the barrel on the sheath it fires rifled slugs at… 10 gauges. Dam this monsters gotta' have some serious kick to it. She have a name?"

"Glatteis." Weich said. **(Pronounced Glatt-Ice. It's German.)**

"Huh, old Atlassian for Black Ice? Does it use gravity dust?" Mason gave the sword a light swing.

Weich shook her head. "No. The blade only uses ice dust to drop its temperature and throw powerful ice attacks. There is a chamber in the pommel to store the dust. The blade is surprisingly efficient in its use of dust, so the wielder can get through most fights without having to resupply immediately after. According to my father he named it that after he gave someone such bad frostbite their arm turned black."

"Dam." Mason raised his eyebrows in surprise. "That's impressive. So why do you have it?"

Weich smiled again. "I told you it was a family heirloom of sorts, similar to the Arc's Crocea Mors. I would like to give it to you until Weiss is ready for it."

"Why not Winter?" Mason asked.

Weich shook her head taking the sword back. "Winter has already been stripped of her title as an heiress to the company because of her interest in becoming a huntress. So, Weiss has become the next heir and as such the sword falls to her. Also, call it a mother's instinct, but I have a feeling she is going to do wonderful things."

"So why me? Why not give it to her yourself?" Mason asked.

Weich set the sword in the case and closed the latches. "I am no longer allowed to see my children."

"I'm sorry what?" Mason was taken aback.

"Exactly as I said." Weich growled, the anger clearly evident in her voice. "My bastard of a husband has forbidden me from seeing them on the grounds that I am a poor influence on them and am not fit to be a mother. That I am not raising them to be heirs to a company. He dared to use Winters wish to be a huntress as evidence. I've effectively been put under house arrest."

Weich sighed. "I greatly respect and love my father, but I believe with all my being that he made a mistake allowing that man to marry into our family."

Mason sat back down and laced his fingers in front of his face as he glowered at the ground.

"Would you like me to kill him." He said nearly silently.

Weich jerked her head towards Mason clearly hearing what he said. "What!"

"I said would you like me to kill him." Mason said. "Listen Weich, I have zero problems killing a man who refuses to let his wife and the mother of his children see his kids without a very, VERY valid reason. And he does not have one."

Weich sighed. "No Mason you can't. He's far too deeply entrenched in Atlassian society. And while I certainly wouldn't mind an 'accident' occurring, if he dies then the entire Atlassian economy will go bottom up."

"And what about your kids, Hmm? How do you think they are going to feel knowing that they can't see you? They are going to absolutely heart-"

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT! YOU THINK I WANTED ANY OF THIS TO HAPPEN! YOU THINK I WANTED TO BE FORCEFULY SEPERATED FROM MY OWN CHILDREN! DO YOU REALLY THINNK SO LOWLY OF ME!" Weich shouted at Mason tears bursting from her eyes and forming rivers down her face. "THERE'S NOTHING I CAN DO! MY HANDS ARE TIED, MY MOUTH GAGGED, AND MY LEGS BROKEN! WHAT IN OUMS NAME CAN I DO!"

Mason sat in silence, staring at the sobbing woman in front of him. "He's going to kill you. You do realize that right? He sees you as a threat to the future of his company and he is going to try and remove you."

"I know." The woman sobbed into her hands. "I know… But what am I supposed to do. If you kill him then nothing changes. I've been removed from every legal document pertaining to the ownership of my children, my home, my father's company. I've become nothing more than a trophy for him and now that I'm out of the way he's going to have me killed."

Mason sat in silence as he listened to the woman in front of him cry. After ten minutes of listening to Weich sob he had an idea. "Weich. I have an idea. Let him try and kill you. Odds are he's going to try and have someone assassinate you and make it look either like an accident or blame someone else for his own gain. He's going to want to make sure that it's done right so he will come for the best he can afford."

"What are you saying…" Weich said in between sobs.

"I mean he's going to hire me to kill you. I just won't actually kill you when he does." Mason said. "I'm the best assassin out there second to none in skill and only bellow the Red Raven in confirmed kills and she doesn't take jobs anymore. I've long since surpassed Marcus Black in confirmed kills and Qrow Branwen is a huntsman not an assassin. He will get in touch with me to have me kill you."

"Then what do you suggest that I do…" Weich wiped the tears from her eyes and sat down on her bed.

"Ok so here's what we're going to do…"

…

Ten minutes later

…

"Alright. Think you can handle that?" Mason asked the now recomposed Weich Schnee. "We can figure out a plan to get your kids back later."

"Are you sure you have morals?" She eventually said. "Because that is very dirty."

"I do." Mason said. "Just not very many. Feelings on the other hand I have an overabundance of."

Weich sighed. "Alright. Fine. That sounds good. I guess we just have to wait for my husband to contact you then."

"Good." Mason stood up and grabbed the case containing Glatteis. "Then I'll see you when I come to kill you."

"Oh my Oum. Do you have to make it sound so creepy?" Weich said lightly punching Masons arm.

"All part of my roguish charm Snowflake." Mason smiled cockily. "I'll be going then."

With that Mason hopped out the bedroom window and disappeared off into the night.

"Tch." Weich scoffed. "Bastard didn't even stay for a drink."

…

The next day.

…

Mason walked towards his ship. Glatteis's case in hand, Cinder walking next to him.

"Where we going Dad?" Cinder asked.

"Nowhere I just have to put this case in my Vault." Mason shrugged.

"Oh. Hey, can I finally go into the Vault! I really want to see what's in it!" Cinder tugged on Mason's arm excitedly.

"Why do you think I haven't sent you off to work on your training?"

"Yesssss!" Cinder squealed. "So what's in it?"

"It's a surprise." Mason removed his arm from Cinders vice grip and shook it out.

"Awe come on. Not even a hint?"

"Hmm." Mason hummed. "I suppose I could give you a hint. It contains explosives."

"…"

"What?"

"Dad… of course it does. It says danger explosives on the door. I meant like what kind of explosives." Cinder deadpanned.

"Ohhh. That's what you meant." Mason shrugged. "Shame. But I already gave you your hint."

"Come ooonnnnn that wasn't a hint!"

"Oh shush." Mason bopped Cinders head to which she reacted with a squeak. "You can wait thirty seconds to see what's inside."

Cinder puffed her cheeks in a pouty face. "Fiiiiinnnnee."

"Good girl" Mason patted her head.

Soon after Mason and Cinder entered the Fatal Vision and made their way to the vault door. Mason tapped a few numbers into the key pad and a number of locks could be heard opening.

"Neir. You're up." Mason said as his ghost materialized above his shoulder.

"Got it." Neir said as her shot a beam of light into a small terminal. Not a moment after he finished the last locks opened and the door slid open.

Cinder rushed inside and stared around in awe. The walls were lined with a vast assortment of weapons ranging from swords, to rockets, to pistols, to snipers. In the center sat a large workbench cluttered with weapon parts and maintenance tools. On the far wall opposite the door were several large boxes each labeled for several types of ammunition and scrap metal.

In the center of that wall were two blacked out cases each holding an unknown weapon. One significantly larger than the other. Next to the smaller case sat a stand holding a spear and a white cloak.

"Wow…" Cinder said slack jawed. "How many guns do have Dad?"

"Last I counted? Something around sixty unique ones plus about six different swords and an absolutely ridiculous number of knives. I have duplicates of some of the guns but those usually get used for spare parts." Mason said, setting the white case on the center table and undoing the latches, removing Glatteis.

"Cool…" Cinder wandered around the room in awe. "Do any of them have names?"

"Yup. They all do. Not unique names like most huntsmen weapons but they all have names none the less." Mason said as he took Glatteis over to the two cases on the back wall. He tapped a few buttons on the counter and a stand rose up. He set the sword shotgun combo on the stand before turning to his daughter.

"Now for the reason I allowed you in here today." Mason said as Cinder tore her attention from the weapons and looked at him. "Very soon you will be going to Signal for more training. Now from what I understand they have you build your own weapons there, but I believe it might be good if I gave you a weapon to use until you have built yours."

"You mean…?" Cinder's eye bulged again.

"Yes. Feel free to choose any weapon in this room." Cinder squealed but was stopped when Mason raised his hand. "There are some exceptions however. You can't have any of the heavy weapons or any of the four on the back wall."

"Why not?" Cinder asked.

"You can't have any of the heavy weapons simply because you can't control them. In fact, I doubt you would be able to lift them, so you'll just have to wait until you're older to use them." Mason shrugged.

"As for the ones on the back wall. You are never allowed to use those. Ever."

Cinder tilted her head in obvious confusion.

"Come here." Mason sighed as he and Cinder moved over to the two blacked out cases and two stands.

"Ok." Mason said. "Simply put. The two on the stands are simply not yours. The sword I was given to give someone else. As for the spear, that was Ruby's mothers. I intend to give it to her at some point when I believe she can handle it."

"Oh. Okay. That makes sense. What about the ones in the boxes." Cinder pointed to the black cases.

"Those are two dangerous for you." Mason tapped a few buttons on each case and the blackness disappeared.

In the smaller case sat a large black and silver pistol. It had a brown leather grip and had a grey revolving chamber. "This is _The First Curse_. I won't let you use it simply because it is too powerful for you. Remember when I let you shoot my Lord High Fixer?"

"Yeah? And it flew out of my hand and it hit me in the face?"

"Yes. Well _The First Curse_ is about fifteen times stronger than that. The first time I used it, it broke my arm." Mason said rubbing his arm lightly at the memory. "It has a magazine size of eight and uses dust to grant it two special perks. When you land three headshots in a row with it dust embedded in the weapon activates and refills one bullet in the magazine. The activated dust helps to stabilize the weapon, improving your aim until you reload."

Cinder stared at the pistol, eyes wide with a new respect for the weapon. "So what about the other one then?"

Mason turned and sneered at the weapon. "That. Thing. Is called _The Black Spindle_ "

Inside the second case sat a sinister looking weapon. The sniper rifle was painted a midnight black and covered in a strange black bonelike material. Eerie green light seemed to ooze from certain points on the weapon.

"That monstrosity is far too dangerous for anyone other than me to touch, not that anyone else could use it since it's become bonded to me. "Mason grimaced "I found it inside a Grimm spawning pit where it likely became corrupted. When I picked it up something happened and now I can't get destroy it without it killing e in the process. It's a weapon of hatred and malice that if it doesn't out right kill you when it hits you leaves you in agonizing pain for the rest of your life. The thing hits like a truck and if you strike someone's weak spot three times with it, it will completely refund the magazine."

Mason tapped a button on the sniper and pistols cases and the blackout returned. "You cannot use it because it won't let you and it will kill you. Promise me you will never try to use it. Ever."

"I… I promise." Cinder said her fear clear as day.

"Good." Mason nodded. "Now let's get you a weapon."

The two moved back towards the center of the room and sat at the work bench.

"So what kind of weapon do you want kid?" Mason asked.

"Um… I'm not really sure… I've always used knives, so I don't really know what kind of gun I would like." Cinder smiled sheepishly.

"Alright well. I can tell already that you aren't going to like hand cannons. So we can get that off the table right off the bat." Mason said.

"Why not?"

"You can't handle the recoil of their shots." Mason said. "So that leaves us with auto rifles, scout rifles, pulse rifles, sidearms, snipers, and shotguns."

"Well if I can't handle a hand cannon then shotguns and snipers are off the table too." Cinder said tapping her cheek in thought.

"A pulse rifle and most of my auto rifles are too bulky, so we would have to wait until you grew a bit more before those became effective." Mason said standing up to rummage around some boxes beneath the table.

"So that leaves us with scout rifles and sidearms." Mason's muffled voice said from under the table. "Personally? I'd recommend a sidearm since they only weigh a bit more than your knives and the school wouldn't have much of a problem if you brought it."

"That makes sense." Cinder nodded. "So what sidearms do you have that I can take?"

"That's what I'm looking for." Mason said from under the tale. "I have a box of the little buggers down her somewhe- AHA! Found 'em"

Mason pulled out a box and set it on the table. Removing the lid, Mason set the weapons on the table. There were five in total.

"I don't have a whole lot of them since I usually just use my hand cannon, but this is what I have." Mason said.

Mason pointed to a white pistol with a rounded top. "Those two are called Teacup Tempests."

Pointing to two blue and green pistols with silencers Mason said. "Those are Havoc Pigeons."

"And finally, we had the Vestian Dynasty." Mason said pointing to the last grey and black angular pistol.

"That's it?" Cinder asked.

"Yep. They're all I got. Don't worry though. This is only temporary until you build your own weapon at Signal."

Cinder nodded and examined the three different pistols in front of her. She picked each up, weighed them in her hands, aimed down their sights a few times, swung them around, generally got a feel for each weapon.

"Is there anything special about them?" Cinder asked.

"The Tempests as well as the Vestian Dynasty both shoot lightning dust rounds and the two Havoc Pigeons shoot fire dust rounds."

"Oh. Then definitely the Havoc Pigeon's." Cinder said picking up the pistols with the silencers. "Can I have them both?"

Mason shrugged. "Sure. You usually duel wield your knives, so it would likely feel more comfortable for you to use both of them."

"YAY!" Cinder hugged her dad tightly. "Thanks a bunch!"

"No problem kid." Mason hugged her back. "Now come on we still have to go shopping for school supplies and get you used to using those pistols."

"Ok!" Cinder said smiling and she jogged out of the vault.

"Traveler above how is she so cheerful all the time." Mason said smiling to himself.

Mason left the vault and the door shut behind him lock clicking into place and the alarm system reactivating. He had a girl to train.

* * *

 **AN**

* * *

 **AAAHHH YEAH! Chapters done!**

 **Not going to lie, I had a tremendous amount of fun writing this chapter, from writing about Weiss's loving wine mom to Cinder finally getting a weapon. We've also been introduced to two more exotics of the four exotics Mason owns,** ** _The First Curse_** **and** ** _The Black Spindle._** **The fourth has actually made an appearance in the story already. It just hasn't been officially named and revealed! Take a guess at what it is!**

 **Here Are the exotics that have been revealed:**

 ** _The First Curse, The Black Spindle, Bones of Eao_**

 **Anyway, I hope everyone is having a blast reading this story so far and I would like to give a special shout out to Monokub, author of My Little Fire Flower, for inspiring me to get off my ass and start writing this story. I highly recommend his story for anyone who is interested in the Mama Cinder AU. Let him know I sent ya!**

 **Also, just a tidbit of info. If it wasn't clear already I really, REALLY dislike Jacques Schnee.**

 **Cannon is fast approaching, and I hope everyone is excited!**

 **Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Don't forget to leave a review or PM me!**

 **Have a good one everybody!**

 **-Zeak-**


	12. Ch 11: My Better Half

**WOOOOO! 350 followers! So happy for all the support everyone is giving this Fic of mine! And actually, I have a bit of a favor to ask all of you. I am looking for a bit more of an official cover for this story so if anyone is interested in making one for me that would be absolutely amazing! Naturally you would be credited for the work, but I figured I might as well ask if anyone was interested seeing as I suck at drawing.**

 **If you are in-fact interested in sending cover art or other fan art then PM me and I'll let you know where to send them.**

 **Moving on… I did not expect people to want Mason and Weich 'together' so much as the response has shown. I can confirm that this won't be the last we see of Weich and I can say that since she was received well I will try and have her appear more often but pairing her and Mason is still up in the air at the moment. If people are still interested latter on, things may become more concrete but for now… we'll just see what happens.**

 **Reviews:**

 **: It won't be the end of her that's for sure. I do feel your pain though. #RipRemnentOfAnIronRose**

 **Xeano: Mason will eventually, I won't say when, reveal where he is from yes, but that bit about the Ahmakaras whispering to Mason I actually hadn't thought about. I do believe I will be using that in the future now.**

 **Guest555: While I don't promise she will be apart of the family I can say that we will be seeing more of her in the future.**

 **MaskedRiderEnzo: Believe me, as much as I want to right now I can't. I require his head for a later date.**

 **L. Cman: Nope no Dark Saber here. Just a generic lightsaber at the moment and maybe more in the future.**

 **Darth Valkorion** **: No promises on a relationship but they are most certainly friends.**

 **VoidLing: Even if I pursue a relationship with Mason and Weich I will not be getting Weich pregnant.**

 **Potato man the semi omnipotent** **: Wrong? Definitely not. In case you haven't seen but you are most certainly not alone in wanting a relationship between the two. And pinky penis will most definitely be brought up at some point.**

 **XxdarkangelxX2003: Well here you go :D. and who knows maybe MACH might happen.**

 **Deras94: Not a bad name. might have to use that.**

 **TheBake: Thanks a bunch. :D**

 **Simada: well here's more!**

* * *

Chapter 11: My Better Half

* * *

 _~Cinder age: 13 Ruby age: 8 Mason age: Unknown, Estimated 35~_

Cinder sat alone in a classroom at Signal Academy, her head resting bored in her hand while the other tapped restlessly against her desk. The classroom was set up in an amphitheater style so that all the desks were facing a large center desk that was cluttered with various different papers and office supplies. Behind the desk was an empty chair and a wall length blackboard with the words DETENTION emblazoned in big, bold, chalk white letters.

"Geez." Cinder grumbled. "The one time I decide to show up nobody is here."

Just as she finished speaking the door to the class room opened and an old portly man with bright red mutton chops walked in and sat at the desk and began to sort through the various papers that littered the man's desk. The two sat in silence until Cinder sighed.

"Um. Excuse me. Professor Whisk?" Cinder asked.

The man looked up with a start, not having noticed there was anyone else in the room.

"Oh Cinder?" The professor sounded genuinely suppressed. "What are you doing here?"

Cinder pointed to the board behind the man. The man turned to look, and a look of realization dawned on his face.

"Well. I suppose that explains why you are here so late. Although I do believe this is the first I have ever seen you in detention before." Professor Whisk said.

"Probably because this is the first time I bothered to show up." Cinder said nonchalantly. She could leave at any time, not like anyone actually cared at this point.

"Hmm." The man hummed. "If you were to have attended the other detentions, might I ask how many you would have gone to?"

Cinder shrugged. "Eh, I stopped counting after the tenth time."

"Then what caused you to show up for detention this time?"

"My dad's picking me up from school today and said he was running a little late. I had nothing better to do so I decided I might just attend one of these detentions. I've heard they're very boring and I'm pleased to note that I wasn't wrong." Cinder's eyes wandered around the barren room.

"Hmm." The man hummed again. "Cinder?"

"Yes Professor?"

"It might not be my place to ask, but is everything going ok at home?" Whisk asked. "A common reason for students to get in trouble is for them to take out their frustrations on other students. This is often caused by issues at home that carry over into everyday life."

Cinder blinked owlishly and stared at the man for a moment. "I mean aside from my dad having been away for the past week on a mission no nothing is really going on at home other than my usual training."

"Training?" Whisk raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, dad is teaching me how to fight so I can do better in school. Well not this past week since he's gone but you get the idea." Cinder leaned back in her chair.

"What does this training entail?"

"The usual stuff. Running laps around the property, knife throwing, aura control, semblance control, marksmen training, and dancing." Cinder said as if her training was normal.

Whisk raised his other eyebrow in surprise. "That's quite the amount of training. No wonder you are top of your class."

Cinder smiled. "Yup! Dad's awesome!"

"Then if everything is ok at home, why does it seem that you are constantly in trouble?"

"I guess you don't know why I've been sent to detention then?"

"No." the professor shook his head. "We are not informed of why students are sentenced unless we ourselves issued the detention."

"Huh." Cinder said. "Good to know."

"You were saying why you were sentenced to detention?"

"Ah right." Cinder rubbed her neck sheepishly. "Apparently the teachers don't like it when someone stands up to bullies."

Whisk furrowed his brows. "That's not true. We openly support standing up to bullies."

"Apparently they don't when I beat the bully into the ground."

"What do you mean?"

"Oh, I literally mean 'beat them into the ground.'" Cinder smirked slightly. "Pretty sure that the hole in the wall where the kids head hit is still there if you want to see it."

…

…

"And what exactly prompted this… beating?" Professor Whisk asked.

"Bullies were picking on Gaara again. They were calling him a monster and a freak because he was a faunus." Cinder lost her slight smirk and frowned.

"And did you ever think to reach out to the teachers?" The professor asked.

"I did. None of them ever did or ever do anything!" She said through gritted teeth while gripping her desk tightly. "It's always, 'we'll look into it' this, 'We'll talk to them' that. Gaara is my friend and is already difficult to talk to because of how quiet he is. The more abuse he takes from his classmates the more he doesn't talk."

"I just can't stand it when people pick on Gaara just because he's a tanuki faunus. Seriously what the hell did he do?" Cinder huffed. "The bastards were calling him a freak just because he's got some dark rings around his eyes. Whoop-dee-doo he looks a bit like an animal. What the hell does it matter! If a-"

The professor held up a hand for Cinder to stop. "Cinder I ask that you watch your language. A child should not have such a vulgar mouth."

"That's not what Yami said." Cinder pouted. "He always said voice your mind and not let others control you."

"And who's this Yami person?" Whisk raised an eyebrow. "Never have I heard you mention him before."

"Eheheh." Cinder scratched her cheek innocently. "No one important."

"Cinder…" The professor stared the girl down. "Is this Yami person the reason why you are always in trouble?"

"What?" Cinder looked shocked. "No! I just told you-

Before she could continue the door to the classroom swung open and in stepped Mason, only something seemed off. He wore a pair of old blue jeans and black sneakers that looked like they had seen better days. A loose red sweatshirt with a large black R in the center covered his torso and his normally salt-n-pepper hair was now silver with a smattering of black highlights. Instead of his normally electrifyingly blue eyes, they were instead more of a steely grey color.

"Yo!" Mason waved nonchalantly as he stepped into the room. "So what's this I hear about detention? I thought I told you not to bother going to those."

"I was bored dad." Cinder crossed her arms. "You said you would be getting here late so I figured why not go to waste time until you came to pick me up."

"Ah. Makes sense. Sorry about that, got lost on the road of life." Mason smiled sheepishly and turned to look and the professor who until now had remained silent. "Hope she hasn't been too much trouble."

Whisk waved his hand. "Nonsense. Your daughter has been quite compliant. We were merely speaking about how she has a tendency to get into trouble."

"HA!" Mason let out a hearty laugh. "Don't I know it. Lemme guess. She saw one of her friends getting bullied and kicked the crap out of them."

"That is correct Mr. Fall. And unfortunately, I'm going to have to ask you to tell your daughter that she cannot go around-"

Mason held up his hand silencing the professor. "Save it sir. I will not discipline my child over something I condone. Now Cinder, did you tell the bullies to back off before you pummeled them?"

"Well I did at first, but they didn't care." Cinder crossed her arms again.

"Then I have nothing left to say on the matter. You gave them a chance to walk away. It's their fault for not taking it." Mason turned back to his daughter. "You ready to go kid?"

"Yup." Cinder hopped out of here seat, threw her bag over her shoulder, and made her way to the door. "It was good to see you professor."

The two left the class room and made their way outside before they began to walk down the street towards the Patch city limits.

Looking up at her father Cinder asked. "Alright Yami. Is this one of your unsolicited take overs or did dad let you do this willingly?"

Mason, or Yami now, sweat dropped and smiled sheepishly. "You wound me Cinder. I would never dream of taking over your father's body by force."

Cinder stared at Yami with a deadpan expression. "That's not what I remember happening on my twelfth birthday when you shoved my face into the cake. And were you late because you were busy fawning over weapons again?"

"Oh come on." Yami threw his hands into the air in exasperation, ignoring her last question. "The one time I do that for a prank and you never let me hear the end of it."

"That was hardly the last time you did that." Cinder looked away from Yami back down the street as they walked. "I remember quite vividly when you hung me by my feet from a tree in the middle of the night when dad was asleep and called it endurance training."

"Hey!" Yami said indignantly. "I had permission for that one you twerp!"

"No you didn't." Cinder said a light smirk on her face. "I asked dad you ass."

"Hmmph." Yami huffed. "You're no fun."

"And you're not sane." Cinder retorted.

Yami stuck his tongue out at Cinder while she flipped him off.

"But yes, I do have permission from Mason." Yami smiled. "After all. It's my turn to see the little red headed speed demon."

"You do realize that she is going to freak out when she realizes you're not Mason right?"

"Oh I know and It's going to be GREAT!" Yami let a demented grin form on his face. "She's going to flip and try to kill me and I'll be in harrowing danger, I'll lose an arm before I relinquish control back to Mason and then when she realizes she hurt her uncle, she'll fall into despair and hate herself and-"

 _SLAM_

Yami's face slammed into the ground, legs comically twitching in the air before falling over.

"Cinderrrrrrrrr!" Yami whined. "What was that for?!"

"You were letting your inner sadist out again." Cinder groaned. "How the hell does dad put up with you inside his head. You're crazy!"

"So is he! But the answer to your question is easy peasy!" Yami jumped up looking no the worse for wear. "I'm him, he's me. We're each others better half. In fact, if he was a separate person I'm positive he would have proposed to me already!"

"Then why do all the training dummies back home look like you?" Cinder raised an eyebrow

"Psssshh" Yami waved dismissively. "That's just how he shows affection."

"Right… you keep telling yourself that." Cinder said dryly.

"Oh my! Cinder are you implying that I'm annoying!" Yami gasped.

Falling to the ground dramatically, Yami hit his forehead with the back of his hand. "OH WOE IS ME! My own daughter thinks I'm annoying!"

"You're not my dad." Cinder stated firmly. "Mason is. If anything, you're the estranged uncle."

"GAH!" Yami facefaulted as he got up at her harsh words. "Words hurt twerp."

"Sticks and stones may break your bones." Cinder said in a mocking singsong voice. "Buts words will leave you empty and mentally scared"

Yami glared at Cinder as she continued to walk down the street. "You sure you're a 13-year-old? Cause you have the snark and the mouth of a cynical twenty something."

Cinder shrugged. "Eh everyone says that I act older than I am most of the time. I'm used to it."

Yami caught up to Cinder before falling into step with her. "Fair enough."

"So, what's it like inside dad's head?" Cinder turned to look at Yami.

Yami's face darkened. "Kid. I may be crazy, but even I know we aren't right in the head. Crota did a number on your dad's psyche and is the reason I even exist. I was made as a coping mechanism after that little encounter. Trust me when I say you do not want to know what it's like in there. It's been getting better over the years, but it's still fucked up something fierce."

Cinder looked back down the street. The two had come to a dirt road the made its way out of the town into the forest. "So are we going straight there or we going to do something else until it's nighttime?"

When Yami didn't answer Cinder turned to look at him. Yami had a vacant look in his eyes before the color changed into an electrifying blue and his silver hair turned to a salt-n-pepper color. Raising his hands to massage his temples Yami groaned. "Ugh. I hate it when he does that."

"Dad?" Cinder looked surprised. "What happened to Yami?"

"He is currently vehemently cursing me out. And he was lying about me giving him permission again. If I have anything to say about it, he is never going to meet Ruby." Mason said continuing to massage his head trying to relieve his headache.

"That's probably for the best." Cinder nodded in agreement.

"I'm glad you agree with me." Mason said. "Uh. Where are we right now? All I remember was waking up this morning and Yami saying 'It's my turn to see the walking embodiment of caffeine'"

"Oh we're just leaving the main town. We're still about an hour's walk from Ruby's house." Cinder said.

"And it's-" Mason looked at his scroll. "4:17 so we have some time to kill before we can go and see Ruby. You up for some hunting while we wait? I could go for some wild rabbit right about now."

"Sure." Cinder shrugged. "First one back with two doesn't have to cook?"

Mason smiled at his daughter. "Everything's a competition with you isn't it?"

"Would you have it any other way?" Cinder returned with a competitive smirk.

Mason adopted a thoughtful look before darting off. "Bring it sweetie!" Mason called back.

Cinder stood there for a moment before registering that her father had run off. "OI! WHAT THE HELL DAD!"

With a yell of annoyance Cinder took off to catch dinner before her father.

 _Later that night 12:35 AM_

Two shadows sat camped out around a dwindling campfire. Off to the side the bloody pelts of two unfortunate rabbits hung from a pair of knives embedded in the trunk of a tree. The low flames of the fire cast long orange tinted shadows around the small clearing. One of the shadows, the larger one, tossed a branch on the fire. A plume of sparks rose into the sky as the smaller more effeminate looking shadow raised its hand. A burst of golden flame flew from the small shadows palm reigniting the small campfire.

The larger shadow stood up and stretched its arms. The newly reignited fire revealing Mason. Which through process of elimination meant the smaller shadow was Cinder.

"Alright kiddo ready to go see your sister?" Mason asked.

Cinder stood up and looked at her father. "Yeah but what about the fire we just reignited?"

"Uh." Mason stared for a moment. "Oops I suppose I should have realized that had to be put out before we left.""

Scratching his head mason walked closer to the fire. "Neir, gimme the emergency fire extinguisher you have in the transmat space."

A moment later a small white cannister appeared in Mason's outstretched hand. Tossing it onto the fire the canister burst into white foam smothering the flames before disappearing. Leaving nothing but warm ash. Spreading the ashes out so the leftover heat didn't reignite the fire Mason brushed off his hands and returned to Cinder's side.

"Alright ready to go?" Mason asked.

"Yep." Cinder smiled and skipped off towards the dirt road that lead farther into the forests of Patch.

Together the duo walked down the road, passing dark family homes. Long winding driveways split off from the main road that led farther into the forests towards hidden cottages locked away behind the cover of the night. Eventually the duo came up to a driveway with what looked to be a handmade mailbox. It was painted a glaringly bright yellow with two names childishly painted on it in dark red paint. They read Xiao-Long on top and Rose just beneath it.

"So you want to get her or do you want me to grab her?" Mason asked.

"OOH can I get her this time?!" Cinder asked excitedly.

"Well that's why I asked was it not?" Mason let out a light laugh. "I'll meet you at our usual clearing."

With that Mason took to the trees and disappeared into the forest.

Cinder pumped her fist in excitement before she to took off towards the house at the end of the drive.

Slowly creeping around Cinder took a good, long, look at the house in front of her. In front sat a small red pickup that looked like it could use a new coat of paint. The house its self was a two-story tall log cabin. A small flower bed sat off to the side from the front door. Attached to the right side of the house was a small woodshed for the fireplace inside.

Slowly Cinder approached the house and hauled herself onto the roof of the woodshed and made her way over to the second-floor windows. Staring inside, Cinder looked into a room that was rather plain, if not a mess. On one side of the room sat a dresser with a stack of magazines on top as well as a small mirror. On another wall was a desk filled with drawings of all sorts of weapons and other equipment, each more fantastical than the last. Clothing was strewn about the floor like the owner couldn't be bothered to make a neat pile of dirty clothes.

Lastly was a bed that sat in the corner of the room. Sprawled out, facedown, on top of the covers was a small eight-year-old girl with short black hair with red tips sleeping peacefully.

Cinder giggled in excitement as she slowly opened the window as quietly as she could. This was the home of two very powerful huntsmen after all.

Once the window was opened, Cinder silently dropped to the floor and made her way over to the bed. Gently she began to shake the small girl in the hopes of wakening her.

The sleeping girl groaned in annoyance as she was slowly woken. "Nooooo…" She moaned still half asleep.

"Ruby!" Cinder whispered. "Ruby!"

"Cookie monster noooo I wanna stay…" Ruby groaned out.

Cinder huffed in frustration. "Dammit Ruby wake up!" She shook Ruby a bit harder.

"I'm up. I'm up dad." Ruby moaned as she rolled over and rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Blearily Ruby opened her eyes to her still dark room. "Huh?"

"Heya sis!" Cinder whispered.

"Yang? What time is it?" Ruby asked.

Cinder pouted. "Come on sis. You couldn't have forgotten about your big sis already! It's only been a few months."

Slowly realization dawned on Ruby's face. "Cinder!? Is that you!"

"Who else would it be?"

"Uh my other sister? Yang?"

"Hmph." Cinder pouted. "She's not your sister. I refuse to let my little sister have another big sister."

Ruby giggled lightly. "But Yang is my other-"

Cinder put her finger up to ruby's mouth cutting her off.

"No. You are my sister no one else's. And dad is your dad not those huntsmen."

"But Cinderrrrr." Ruby pouted.

"No arguments. Little sisters are supposed to listen to their older sisters."

"Fine… So is dad here?" Ruby asked.

Cinder's mood seemed to do a 180 from its previous possessive tone. "Yup! He finally let me come get you myself he's waiting for us in the clearing."

"Yay! Let me grab my drawings! I got all sorts of cool stuff to show him!" Ruby threw herself of her bed and quickly padded over to her desk, grabbing several pieces of paper and a few pencils. "Alright let's go!" She said smiling as she went back to Cinder.

"Uh Ruby don't you need some clothes?"

"Huh?" Ruby looked down and saw she was still in her black and red pajamas. "Oh right!"

Quickly the red head grabbed a red cloak off the ground and buttoned it around her neck. "There we go!"

Cinder giggled but didn't say anything more. Together they climbed out the window, dropped off the roof with little fanfare, and ran towards a clearing not to far from the house.

After five minutes of running the two came to a small clearing in the forest. In the on the other side resting beneath a tree in the moon light was Mason.

"Morning kid!" Mason waved them over.

"Dad. It's the middle of the night." Ruby said.

"True but is past midnight so therefore it's morning" Mason said cheekily.

"Woah really?" Ruby asked. "Dad never lets me stay up this late!"

"Oi I told you to call him Tai around me otherwise it gets too confusing to guess who your talking about." Mason said.

Ruby giggled. "Sorry forgot."

"So how's my favorite little sister doing?" Cinder asked, all to happy to talk to Ruby again.

"Great!" Ruby smiled before pouting. "Though Tai and Yang are really protective. They never let me have any fun. They always hide the cookie jar from me."

Mason laughed. "I don't think that qualifies as being protective squirt. That's called parenting."

"But they don't even let me practice when they spar and train!" Ruby pouted.

"So?" Cinder said.

"So? I wanna be a huntress I can't do that if I don't train!"

"Then what's stopping you?" Mason asked.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do!" Ruby whined petulantly. "I don't know how to train!"

"Have you tried asking your uncle Qrow to train you?"

Ruby perked up at the mention of her uncle. "Yup. He said he'd start training me when he got back."

"Then why are you complaining about not being trained?"

"Because!" Ruby threw her hands in the air. "I wanna train now. Uncle Qrow is on a mission and I don't know when he'll be back!"

Mason nodded. "Alright then." Mason reached into his boot and pulled out one of his many throwing knives and began to fidget with it. "You want to try training then I'll give you something to work on."

Ruby squealed "YES! Thanks dad!"

"No problem kid." Mason waved her off. "So here is what I want you to do. I want you to get up every morning at six. You are going to spend your morning until breakfast doing this training routine. First you will run around that training field by your house. After ten laps around the field I want you do fifty sit-ups and fifty pushups."

Ruby's eyes slowly widened in horror. "Nooooo…" She whispered.

Holding his knife by the blade Mason passed it to Ruby. "Finally, once you finish with the pushups I want you to practice throwing that knife into a tree a hundred times. You are to repeat that routine until you get called for breakfast. Got it?"

Ruby groaned. "Aweeeee. Can't you just make me strong! That sounds boring!"

"Rube's. You can't do any of the fun stuff until your strong enough to do the basics without even trying." Mason said. "Not even your sister here started sparing me until she was a year older than you. Besides do you even have your aura unlocked?"

Ruby nodded. "Mmhm. I told you about that already on of your other visits. The one after Yang took me to find her mom. Tai and Uncle Qrow unlocked it for me incase me and Yang ever got into trouble again."

"Right. I forgot about that." Mason grumbled. "I still have to figure out how to make her murder look like an accident."

"Daaaad. You promised you wouldn't do anything to Yang."

"I did?" Mason asked innocently.

"Yes."

"No I didn't."

"Yes you did."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Uh-huh."

"Cinder back me up I never promised that did I?"

Cinder smirked. "Sorry dad, but Ruby's right."

"Traitor!" Mason exclaimed in mock anger while Ruby shouted in victory.

The trio laughed together for a short while before slowly calming down with only a spare few giggles remaining.

"So, Ruby what were all the papers you grabbed before we left?" Cinder asked.

"These!" Smiling Ruby took out the papers from her red cloak. "Are my weapon designs! Uncle Qrow and Tai said that students at Signal get to design and build their own weapons."

Cinder nodded. "Yeah we do. But not until we're in our third year."

Ruby squawked. "What?! But that's so long from now!"

"Sweetie you have to actually learn how to make the weapons before you can build them." Mason said. "Just like with training, you can't do the fun stuff until you know the basics."

With whatever protest Ruby was going to put up successfully cowed, she settled for lightly pouting instead.

"So what sort of designs do you have?" Mason asked.

Ruby immediately perked up again. "I have tons!" Ruffling through her papers she began presenting her ideas and inspirations for her own weapon.

"So Tai's weapon is supper cool! It's a war hammer that transforms into a chain gun. Then there's Uncle Qrow's scythe/sword/assault rifle combo. Yang has been toying with gloves that are actually shotguns. Then there was-"

And so for the next hour Ruby went on and on about all the various weapons she had seen in her magazines and around her home. She explained how she wanted something strong, flashy, and intimidating for her eventual weapon and even shared some crude sketches of potential weapons she might like to have. Here two favorites, much to Mason's amusement, were a massive halberd that could shift into a high caliber, blot action, hunting rifle and a massive war scythe even larger than the halberd that could change into a semi-automatic, high-powered, sniper rifle that, if Mason knew Ruby, could probably blow the head off an alfa beowolf without too much trouble. What Mason found so amusing was that either weapon she chose would end up being twice the size of the diminutive girl and imagining Ruby running around with a weapon that large was nothing short of hilarious.

After a short laughing fit Mason calmed down and assured Ruby that whatever weapon she chose she was sure to be good with it.

"However Ruby," Mason started. "I do have a present for you once you graduate Signal."

Cinder perked up, realizing what he was referring to.

"OHH!" Ruby said with stars in her eyes, jumping onto Mason. "What is it?! Tell me please! Please please tell me! I bet it's really cool! Can I have it now!? Why do I have to wait until I graduate? Is it a weapon? A new cloak? Tell me please!"

"Woah slow down there." Mason placated. "No, I won't tell you what it is. That would ruin the surprise and you can't have it yet because you're not ready for it yet. When you graduate you will be. Don't worry you'll get it in time."

"But I want it now…" Ruby whined.

"You're going to have to prove to me that you can be trusted with it. Right now, you won't get it until you graduate Signal. Unless you don't think you can do it." Mason said smugly.

"NO! I'll prove I can get my present before I graduate! Just watch! I'm going to be the best there is. I'm going to be the greatest huntress there ever was!" Ruby declared with great fervor.

A fire seemed to ignite in her eyes. Determination burning bright at her declaration.

"HA!" Mason laughed heartily. "That's the spirit. But getting your present is only the first step. Your going to have to beat me if you want to be considered the strongest. I expect a good fight when you do challenge me to find out who is the strongest. After all the strongest Huntsman is responsible for taking down the strongest criminal. You better not keep me waiting squirt."

"You better be ready Dad because I'll do it. I'll be the one to bring you to justice. I'll do what no one else has done! I am Ruby Rose and I will be the strongest huntress ever!"

* * *

 **AN**

* * *

 **Well that was an ending! Even though I feel like it was a bit rushed. But it looks like dear little ol' Ruby can be quite the passionate young tyke when she wants to be huh?**

 **This chapter marks the end of the pre-canon timeline (or at least what's left of the original Cannon anyway.) Because I'm tired of waiting for it so expect the words TIME SKIP at the beginning of next chapter or a large change in ages in italics up top.**

 **Next up comes RWBY Episode: 1 and a bit more mabye so look forward to it.**

 **Unfortunately, no one was able to get what the 4th exotic was in between the wait of chapters so I won't be revealing it to you just yet. Maybe next chapter if I'm feeling nice but not right now.**

 **I do apologize for the wait however. This was supposed to be out months ago, but I got sidetracked with everything. Hopefully I'll be able to update more frequently.**

 **Anyway, hope everyone is enjoying the story thus far and don't for get to drop a review or send me a PM if you have questions!**

 **Have a good one everybody!**

 **-Zeak-**


	13. Ch 12: Dusty Horizons

**I'm not dead yet!**

 **Well it certainly has been a while hasn't it guys, like four, five months I think? Any way now I'm back and we can get a start on the RWBY cannon timeline, or what's left of it anyway. Odds are that this story will be primarily about crime rather than Salem and her band of nut jobs. That doesn't we won't be seeing any of those characters but that will most likely not form up the bulk of this story.**

 **Now about your concerns of Yami, or Mason's other personality. I will freely admit it was both an impulsive decision and experiment to see how everyone reacted to him. Right now, he will most likely be a one-off thing, but I might have him make cameo appearances here and there throughout the story. Let me know how you guys feel about that.**

 **Also now that D2 forsaken is out I suppose Cinder might just have to follow _The Way of a Thousand Cuts_ wont she.**

 **Anyway, onto the reviews!**

 **Crimson Grave: I'm glad you thought it was cute! And the idea of Ruby being anything at all like Revy is an absolutely terrifying prospect.**

 **TheBake: I'm glad it's one of your favorites!**

 **Cra0007: Don't worry there will be more family time in the future!**

 **Rockman1159: You'll just have to wait and see!**

 **Dekuton: Yeah, I know. Again, Yami is most likely a one-off experiment so don't expect to see a lot of him in the future.**

 **Judaz: That is actually a fantastically hilarious idea! I might just add that in at some point!**

 **True to the it 666: Feel free to, this is fanfiction after all**

 **Cobalt Marvel: Glad to see people binge this story! It gives me a happy feeling all over!**

 **The WovenMantis: Thanks for the follow mate! And all that starts this chapter!**

 **Anonymous: I give you kudos sir for being the only person to point that out!**

 **Any way lets get on with the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 12: Dusty Horizons

* * *

 _~Cinder Age: 20, Ruby Age: 15, Mason Age: Unknown, Estimated: 40~_

 _~Start of the Canonical Timeline~_

Cinder considered herself to be a patient woman. She had to be to constantly put up with her father's shenanigans, even if they were endearing and loveable, and dealing with incompetent hired help. However something about the man she was currently working with just annoyed her to no end.

She swore this was her father's way to get back at her for slipping laxatives into his morning coffee a week ago.

"Oi, princess you ready with that bullhead?" A smooth voice drawled over Cinder's handheld radio.

Sighing in annoyance at her unfortunate nickname Cinder radioed in her conformation. "Yes, Candlestick I'm all set at our rendezvous point a few buildings over."

"Awe, You don't sound happy to be working with me Princess. Didn't you miss your dear uncle Roman?" The voice said with a mocking tone over the radio.

"You act more like the annoying elder sibling than my uncle Roman." Cinder said.

"Eh." The radio chirped. "Your probably right. Quite the strange family we have, don't we?"

"Just get to work Roman. It's supposed to be game night tonight back home with the others and I'd rather not miss any more of it than I have too." Cinder said before shutting off her radio.

~000~

A man with shocking orange hair with a bowler hat and a white suit sighed in an alley as he slipped the radio into his pocket. "Sheesh It's almost as if she doesn't like me!"

"Uh Roman, boss?" One of several thugs said from behind Roman "I don't think she does."

Roman turned to the thug that spoke and stared at him for a moment.

"Jerry." Roman said.

"Uh yeah boss?" The thug now named Jerry asked.

"I pay you to rob dust shops late at night, not state the obvious and answer rhetorical questions." Roman said lightly smacking the thug in the back of his head with his cane. "Now come on, our ride is in position so let's get this over with."

With that the crime boss strode out of the alley followed by several hired thugs. Casually the group of criminals made their way down the street to one of the only dust shops open late at night.

From Dust to Dawn was a quaint shop. Nothing to fancy and one might confuse it for a convenience store at first glance. To the left as Roman walked through the door were powdered dust dispensers filled with the five most basic and common dust types, Burn, Freeze, Earth, Thunder, and Gale. Along the front counter was a special glass case that held the shops more high-quality items. These were larger raw dust crystals or specifically cut crystals. Sitting on top of the case was an advertisement for the dust combinations the store carried, Gravity, Demolition, and Storm. Off to the right of the counter was a section dedicated to magazines and newspapers.

Roman lit a cigar as he walked up to the counter manned by a blading older man with a grey shirt and red apron.

Tapping the ashes off the end of his cigar Roman looked at the store clerk.

"Do you have any idea how difficult it is to find a dust shop open this late at night." Roman asked rhetorically.

"You… You're-" the clerk started to say.

"Ap ap ap ap." Roman cut him off. "I know who I am and I'm in no need for you to say my name."

"Just take my Lien and leave." The old store clerk said frightfully.

"Calm down. We're not here for your Lien." Roman puffed his cigar before turning to the thugs behind him. "Grab the dust."

Each thug took out two canisters and made their way over to the dispensers and began to drain the dust. Others began setting the crystals not in the front show case in padded briefcases.

Roman in the mean time had the store clerk fill a briefcase with the dust crystals in the front showcase. "You know old man. You should really think about retiring."

The old man just continued to put crystals into the briefcase.

Roman sighed and puffed his cigar again. "Why does no one ever want to have a conversation! It's like they think I'm going to kill them, sheesh."

"Seriously, old man, things are going to be getting quite hectic soon, so I'd recommend finding a new job or-"

 _CRASH_

"God dammit." Roman muttered taking out the radio in his pocket. "Princess we seem to have company so get ready to receive."

"Is it the police or a huntsman?" The radio crackled back.

"Not the police, if it was I'd already be on my way to you, might be a huntsman but Im not sure yet." Roman moved over to the now broken window. "Just be ready. We're cutting this run short."

"Roger that."

Roman looked out the window to see a young girl dressed in a red and black combat skirt, red cloak, and black combat boots standing over one of his unconscious goons. Resting on her shoulder was a massive scythe.

"Well someone's compensating for something." Roman lightly whistled to himself.

"Well?" Roman nodded from his men towards the girl. "Don't just stand there, get her."

The six remaining goons ran out the front door while Roman slowly followed setting the now filled briefcase of dust crystals against the wall gently palming one of the burn crystals.

Looking up from the crystal in his hand Roman watched the fight.

The young girl was clearly better than his goons given that out of the six he had sent after her, four were now on the ground either unconscious or groaning in pain in the time it took for him to walk outside and set his briefcase down.

"Well shit. Guess it's a huntress in training then." Roman muttered to himself as he watched the girl swing her scythe around and clothesline one of the two remaining thugs with the long pole that served as the weapons handle.

The last thug swung his machete like sword at the girl from behind only for the girl to disappear in a flash of red rose petals and reappear swinging around her scythe into the ground transferring its momentum into her body before planting both her feet into the thug's face and sending him flying right next to where Roman stood.

Looking down at the thug who had boot prints stamped onto his face next to him Roman only shook his head.

"You were worth every penny Jerry. Truly you were." Roman muttered sarcastically before dropping his cigar onto the ground and crushing it with the end of his cane.

"Well Red," Roman turned his attention back to the red and black clad girl. "I do believe you've cut short my time at this fine establishment so I'm afraid this is where we part ways."

Roman pointed his cane at the girl and pressed a button in its handle. The end of the cane popped open revealing a crosshair.

Reacting quickly the girl disappeared in a flash of rose petals again just as a multicolored missile came exploding out of the cane.

Meanwhile, while the girl was recovering from nearly being shot by what appeared to be a firework, Roman grabbed the case of dust, took off down the street, and was soon climbing up a fire escape that had been set up earlier for when he and his men finished robbing the dust shop.

Reaching the roof Roman ran to the opposite side just as he heard a gun shot and saw the girl in red from before getting launched onto the roof he was on.

"Geeze how light is she to be able to do that?" Roman said as he turned around. "Cinder better have that bullhead ready."

Roman smirked to himself looking at the girls slightly deshelved appearance before tossing the burn dust crystal from his pocket into the middle of the roof.

Throwing his arms out to the sides Roman let himself fall off the side of the building lightly snickering to himself when he heard the dismayed cry on the young huntress to be. He fell for about two seconds before he rolled into the passenger bay of the awaiting bullhead.

"Take us up." He shouted to the cockpit.

Standing up, dusting himself off, and readjusting his bowler hat, Roman waited for the bullhead to crest the roof before laughing at the stunned look on the girl's face.

Roman lifted his cane once more and shouted "End of the line Red." Before firing at the burn crystal he had tossed onto the roof earlier.

The shot hit the crystal and the ensuing explosion nearly caved the roof of the building down. Laughing Roman missed the purple glow that had seemed to surround the explosion.

Roman was interrupted in his laughter when he felt the bullhead suddenly jerk and saw that the debris from the explosion were being held aloft by a purple glow and no longer was it just the girl on the roof. Now joining her was a blond-haired woman wearing a black skirt, white blouse and a pair of glasses. In one hand was a riding crop that seemed to glow a slight purple.

Scowling Roman ran to the cockpit of the bullhead.

"Oi Cinder we got a huntress."

"HA." Cinder laughed before handing the controls over to Roman. "Neo's going to be pissed when she finds out we ran into a huntress the one time you didn't take her with you."

Dashing back to the passenger bay Cinder braced herself when the bullhead jerked once more as a large javelin of broken stone tore a hole in the roof of the craft.

"Dam." Cinder muttered.

Cinder's hands began to glow a fiery orange as she readied her semblance.

Not soon after a large glyph with a strange fiery crown design appeared on the ruined rooftop.

Reacting quickly the blond huntress grabbed the red colored girl and jumped outside the glyph just as the area was consumed in a large pillar of flame.

Lightly frowning the blond huntress split her rock javelin into three and threw them at the bullhead again.

Glyphs appeared in Cinders palms as she threw a blinding white fire ball at each javelin, destroying them before they could do any more damage to the already ruined bullhead.

Wanting to get into the fight as well, the red clad girl shifted her scythe into a rectangular looking rifle and began to fire at the airship.

Frustrated at the constant attacks on her ship Cinder launched more fire at the incoming bullets, trying to minimize any further damage.

Unfortunately, being distracted by the bullets, Cinder missed the storm cloud forming overhead.

Using Cinders distracted state to her advantage the blond huntress unleashed a rain of blindingly sharp icicles from the storm cloud and peppered the bullhead with hundreds of foot long Ice spikes.

Growling, Cinder put her two hands together and formed a perfectly spherical ball of blinding white flame. Launching the ball at the roof top the blond huntress put up a barrier of debris to protect herself from the oncoming projectile.

The ensuing explosion caused the already unstable roof to finally give way and caused the huntress and huntress in training to fall into the building below.

Huffing with exertion from her last attack Cinder made her way back to the cockpit to sit down only to find several icicles turning her seat into a large pin cushion. Looking to Roman she saw that he was lightly sweating.

An icicle had pinned his bowler hat to the seat and he had a large cut on the inside of his right leg where one of the ice spikes had nearly took his leg off.

Wiping the slight sheen of sweat off her forehead, Cinder lightly shook her head.

''I'd ask what took us so long to leave but I think I know the answer to that question." Cinder said sitting on the floor of the cockpit and resting her head against the wall. Brushing her long black hair out of her face.

Her words seemed to jolt Roman out of his shocked state. "You think?" he said. "And I just bought these pants too."

Cinder laughed lightly at the attempt at humor. "Did we at least get the dust?"

Roman nodded his head towards the area next to his seat where his briefcase sat. "Just the high-quality display case stuff. The guys had everything else and they're… well…" Roman trailed off.

"Well at least it wasn't a total bust then."

Roman snorted. "As if with the amount its going to cost to repair this thing." Roman patted the dashboard of the aircraft. "We lost almost two full heists like that worth, unless by some miracle all the damage we took was cosmetic but given the fact I can see the fuel batteries are sitting at a quarter power rather than three quarters Its safe to assume that that huntress managed to nail the dust batteries."

"Dam that's going to be expensive." Cinder muttered, taking out a knife she had strapped to her upper right arm, she began to toss it in her hand.

Roman looked away from where he was flying to Cinder.

"Somethings bugging you, you don't start tossing that knife of yours unless your bored or somethings wrong, so what's up? I can't have my temporary partner having issues."

"I'm worried." Cinder said after a moment of thought. "Dad is in Atlas with Neo working on faking our contact in the Schnee family's death so while I know he can handle himself, I can't help but worry for him. But also…" Cinder muttered something Roman couldn't quite here.

"You mind repeating that last part princess. Didn't quite catch that."

"That was my younger sister Ruby…" Cinder said. "The girl in red I mean."

Roman fell quiet. Mason had talked to him about the daughter he had to give away but refused to stop seeing, so Roman knew all about how it was Ruby's goal to see her sister and second father brought to justice.

"How old is she?" Roman asked.

"Fifteen."

Roman lightly whistled to himself. "Dam. She's got some skill with that scythe of hers, so we better be careful then."

"Yeah…" Cinder said. "Yeah we should."

~000~

Ruby sat at a metal table with a dejected look on her face in a dimly lit room inside the local VCPD station. She had been here for ten minutes after that blond huntress had apprehended her after fighting off that bowler hat guy with her.

What did she do wrong all she did was try and help that poor old shop keeper and defend herself when one of those thugs were trying to rob her?

Suddenly the door to the room opened and in walked the blond huntress from before.

Crossing her arms beneath her large bust the woman leveled a powerful glare at Ruby.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous what you did was?" The woman chastised. "What would have happened if that building you had been on was occupied and not for sale?"

Ruby hung her head, an almost visible cloud of depression forming around her.

The blond huntress sighed and adjusted her glasses. "If it were up to me you'd be sent home."

Ruby's depression seemed to deepen.

"With a pat on the back."

Followed by a suddenly blindingly bright smile.

"And a harsh slap on the wrist."

Followed by the immediate return of her soul crushing depression.

"But there is someone who wishes to see you." The huntress let out another sigh only this one seemed to be more tired than annoyed.

Stepping to the side the huntress slowed a man to walk through the door. The wore and dark green suit with a thin silver scarf and small circle rimmed glasses. The man's eyes were slightly squinted and colored a light green and his hair was a dull pewter color.

"Thank you Glynda." Gently setting a plate of cookies down on the table and taking a sip from a rather large coffee mug, the man sat down across from Ruby as she hesitantly began to eat the cookies on the plate.

"Ruby Rose…" The man said as Ruby paused in her eating. "You have… Silver eyes."

Ruby smiled nervously. "Yeah that's me."

"I'm glad to meet you. You put on quite a show back there. Though I am curious." The man took another sip from his mug. "How did someone so young become so skilled at wielding one of Remnants most dangerous weapons?"

Ruby smiled sheepishly. "Well I go to Signal sir. I'm a second year so I'd like to think that I'm pretty good with my baby."

"Your… baby?" The man raised an amused eyebrow.

"Yeah, my baby, Crescent Rose. I learned all about how to use her while at Signal Academy." Ruby chirped.

"I wasn't aware that there was a class that taught children how to use a war scythe." The man said with thinly veiled amusement.

"Well…" Ruby lightly poked her fingers together. "It was one teacher in particular…"

"As a matter of fact, the only person I know of who is even as remotely as skilled as you is an old acquaintance of mine. A dusty old crow." The man said his eyes taking an almost fond look to them.

"Hey that's my Uncle Qrow!" Ruby said excitedly. "He occasionally teaches at Signal whenever he's not on missions."

"Really?" The silver haired man had a soft smile on his face. "And you say that he taught you how to wield a war scythe?"

"Mmhmm" Ruby nodded as she finished off the last of the cookies.

"Well color me impressed. I would assume that because you are attending a preliminary huntsmen academy that you wish to become a huntress."

"Yup." Ruby grinned. "I'm going to be the strongest huntress in the world."

"Hoh." The man chuckled lightly. "That's quite the lofty goal. So you wish to fight the strongest monsters."

"Well not just that." Ruby was practically vibrating in her seat, before the dam burst and she spoke so fast that the man and huntress could just barely understand her. "I also want to fight crime, but the police are so boring, but fighting monsters is really cool and being a huntress is so much more romantic and exciting and I made a promise a while ago that I'd be the strongest, but I also want to help people."

"You're… a very animated person… aren't you." The man said lightly.

"Yeah I get that a lot." Ruby rubbed her arm blushing slightly. "That or scatterbrained."

The man smiled. "Tell me do you know who I am?"

Ruby looked at the man for a moment. "You're Professor Ozpin, the headmaster of Beacon Academy."

"And you wish to be a huntress?" The now named Ozpin asked.

"Yes sir. More than anything." Ruby said with utmost seriousness.

"Well I believe we have a few extra spots available this year. Would you like to attend my school?"

"Ozpin sir, She's just-" the huntress went to say something but was stopped with a wave of Ozpin's hand.

"Your answer Ms. Rose."

"Yes sir. It'd be a dream come true!" Ruby said.

"Well." Ozpin leaned back in his chair and took another sip from his mug. "I do believe we have a new student attending this coming semester Mrs. Goodwitch. Please set up the necessary documentation and paperwork for young Ruby here."

Goodwitch's hand tightened slightly around her riding crop. "Yes sir."

Ozpin stood up from the table and made his way to the exit. "I'll see you at initiation in a week Ms. Rose."

With that the enigmatic man left the young huntress-to-be with her thoughts.

~000~

"You know for the home of a billionaire this place has some pretty lax security." Mason said to himself before looking down at his diminutive partner. "Then again when your partner can create illusions and perform short distance teleports within said illusions most security would be relatively simple to get through."

The short woman leveled a smug grin at Mason, here duel colored eyes swapping from a chocolatey brown to a heterochromia of soft pink and vanilla. She wore a low-cut chocolate sweater under a cream-colored jacket and brown jeans, with pink tipped white knee-high high heeled boots. Gently she slid a long thin sword from her umbrella and gently slid it between the crack of a door. Gently lifting it undoing the latch on the opposite side.

"I suppose her being a smug little ice-cream girl isn't much of a downside either." Mason muttered before slowly peaking around the corner.

"Neir, how's security looking?" Mason said.

"All good here." Neir said over Mason's ear piece. "I have a constant loop playing over the cameras, so you should be good and the next guard to come down your hall is still a minute away."

Mason nodded towards his partner. "Alright understood. How close are we to the target?"

"Her room is just down the hall." Neir said.

"And the fake body?" Mason asked. "Has that been discovered yet?"

"Negative. I don't think anyone should discover it until a few days from now and since it's been burnt beyond recognition I doubt anyone will be able to tell it's not her." Neir said. "Especially since she gave us her wedding ring to use. That was a clever idea on her part."

"Mmm" Mason hummed in conversation and his partner opened another door. This one leading to the familiar bedroom of one Weich Schnee.

The room looked just as Mason remembered. A large queen-sized bed in the center of the right wall. To the left was a large walk-in closet. Hanging from the ceiling was a large glass chandelier that had a distinct snowflake pattern incorporate into its design. A relatively large blue and white throw rug rested in the center of the room.

In fact the only difference that Mason could see between the last time he was here and now was that the two windows in the room now had bars over them.

Silently Mason shut the door behind his partner.

"Neo." Mason said to his partner and tossed her a spray-paint can. "Get to work."

Grinning evilly Neo took the can and made her way over to one of the empty walls and began her work.

"Well Weich I do believe I told you your husband would hire me to murder you and well here I am."

A small lump on the large bed stirred at the sound of his voice.

Sitting up with her hair a mess and nightgown hanging slightly off her right shoulder Weich Schnee scowled a Mason.

"Did it have to be so dam early in the morning." The Schnee matriarch growled out.

"What? Did you think I'd murder you in broad daylight snowflake?" Mason casually raised an eyebrow.

Weich didn't dignify him with an answer, instead opting to flop back down onto her bed and tug the covers over her face.

"Now now, Snowflake. Time to wake up I have to get busy murdering you, don't I?" Mason said with faux cheerfulness.

A muffled _'fuck off'_ was the only indication the Schnee matriarch had heard him.

"Ok. I guess a bed side murder it is then." Mason shrugged before making his way over to the bed and drawing a knife from his belt.

Splaying his left hand out and resting it on the bed, Mason twirled his knife in his right before stabbing it down just between his fingers and precariously close to Weich's midsection.

"Oh…." Mason began. "I got all my fingers… the knife goes chop chop chop."

Mason merrily sang as he slowly inched the knife and his hand closer to Weich.

"And if I miss spaces in between, my fingers will come off! And if I hit my fingers, the blood will soon come out! But all the same I play this game 'cause that's what it's all about!"

Mason raised the Knife once more before jamming it down faster and with more force. "OH! CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP CHOP I'm picking up the speed! And if I hit my fingers then my hand will start to bleed!"

Just as he finished Mason scraped his knife along where Weich was laying causing her nightgown to tear and a little blood to flow from a shallow cut. Weich let out a startled yelp, jerking out of the way.

"Now now, I can't kill you if your moving so stay still."

"Oi." Weich said as she threw herself off the bed. "Watch where your stabbing that thing!"

"But Snowflake! It's not a proper murder if it's not bloody!" Mason whined.

"Then let me do the cutting! And quit it with the deranged murderer act, It's creepy!" Weich nearly shouted.

"Fine, fine." Mason waved her off, dropping the deranged grin that had worked its way onto his face. "But that's how I'm supposed to look!"

Tossing his knife to Weich, he leaned against the wall and waited for her to cut her fingers and rub the blood on the sheets.

Turning to look at where Neo was, he let a smirk worm its way onto his face. Upon the far wall of the room, covering the sliding door of the walk-in closet, was written in massive red lettering ' ** _LET THE REVOLUTION PROSPER!'_**

Beneath it Neo was writing a series of numbers that Mason recognized as the Schnee bank routing numbers, pins, and various other passwords.

Walking over to where Neo was, Mason plucked the can of spray paint out of her hands and wrote his own little message. **_'VACUO SENDS THEIR REGARDS'._** Next to it he put a little tiger head with three claw marks slashed through it.

"Well that ought to keep any suspicion off anyone from Vale." Mason said, lightly tossing the can back to Neo so she could finish. "And put all the suspicion on those jackasses who stiffed me in the White Fang."

Turning back to Weich he was slightly confused by just how… meticulous… she was being.

"Lets see… Most of the blood is around by the pillows so that would look like a slit neck but if I put more down near…" she was quietly muttering unaware she was tapping bloody fingers on her cheek.

"Seriously?" Mason asked. "Ol' Jackie Schnee paid me to kill you and dispose of the body. So long as your body isn't here, and they find the corpse I burnt to be completely unrecognizable with your wedding ring that I hid out in the forest, then how the blood falls shouldn't matter. Make it look like a struggle. It's that easy."

Weich paused in her thoughts. "You killed someone to make this more believable?"

"It was your idea to put the wedding ring on the corpses hand. Did you forget? And no I didn't. I Just bought a corpse from a contact I know." Mason shrugged. "You'd be surprised what else I could buy but that's a conversation for another time. Just cut your hand and smear it around a bit and let's get out of here."

Frowning Weich slashed her palm open and smeared it around her bed, covering her sheets and pillows in blood.

"Good." Mason nodded. "Now common we need to get out of here. The windows are a no go since those bars are wired with sensors and I can't afford to reveal that I have a man who can hack into the electrical grid of this house. We need to get out another way, preferably a window in another room."

"Why on earth would you want to go out a window? We're on the third floor?" Weich looked at Mason disbelievingly.

Both Neo and Mason stared at Weich with deadpan expressions.

"Weich…" Mason said. "I can jump on air and Neo can teleport… is it really that surprising that we want to go out the third-floor window?"

Weich blushed having forgotten just what abilities the man she was talking to had.

"W-Well let's go then! What are you waiting for." Weich spun around and marched off towards the door.

"Uh Weich." Mason said. "You might want to put on some actual clothes. That nightgown isn't going to be much help in the cold."

Pausing in her march, Weich turned around, muttering obscenities to herself while both Neo and Mason snickered to each other.

With Weich in a new change of clothes and their message left. The trio of people were soon out of the Schnee manor and on their way to Vale.

It would be weeks before the Newspapers and internet calmed down after the discovery of the assassination of the matriarch of the Schnee family.

* * *

 **AN**

* * *

 **HUZZA ITS DONE!**

 **And so cannon starts next chapter. Or at least what's left of cannon any way.**

 **Who else in a part of Cinders strange family? What happened at game night? Will Weich ever manage to get into Masons pants?**

 **Find out later when I actually manage to get off my ass and type the next chapter!**

 **Hope you all enjoyed the chapter and always remember to leave a review and PM me if you have any questions**

 **Have a good one everyone!**

 **-Zeak-**


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